The Apple Does Not Fall Far From The Tree
by vezrio
Summary: "I won't make my mother's mistakes. I won't fall for some stupid prince who'll just choose someone else over me one day. Despite all my efforts, I won't be noticed anyway. I won't make the same mistakes..." Severa criticizes her mother's past unrequited love, but what happens when she's starting to find herself in the same situation?
1. Intro part 1

After witnessing how hard her mother fell for Prince Chrom, Severa had always told herself that she will never, ever fall for royalty. She knew how hard it broke her mother's heart, seeing the love of her life wed someone else; sometimes she doubted if her mother truly loved her father or if she only used him to forget about the prince. Of course, what hurt the most, was how her mother often seemed to put work first before her and to Severa, it would always look like her mother would choose Chrom over her. All the time.

Acting indifferent from Lucina is easier. At first, she hated the princess. She was perfect. Much like Cordelia. Lucina was pretty, she was good at fighting, she was kind, and a born leader. Most of all, she inherited her mother's superior intelligence. She was a beacon of hope and everyone looked up to her. Lucina was everything Severa strived to be, but could not become. And yet, she could not hate her fully. She would not admit it outright, but she had a soft spot for the princess. Solely because she was _Lucina_ and in a way, she was like an older sister to her. To all of them unfortunate children with broken families and a crumbling future.

And then, there was that other one. Lucina's younger brother. That irritating, loudmouthed, insensitive, dork of a boy named Morgan. She didn't like him at all. She didn't understand why he's so happy all the time. Sure, maybe he is a prince, with an Exalt for a father and a gifted tactician for a mother. He may be from royalty, who can ask for anything he wants and have it delivered in a golden platter, yes, well lucky for him. But still, even Lucina is never that cheerful. Morgan was just… much too energetic.

Severa considered him as a waste of energy. He was always running around always seemed to be causing trouble, shouting ridiculous things along with Owain and Cynthia. He was always following his mother around even though he's aware of how busy the tactician always is. He's insensitive and clueless and he was a child to the core. Severa hated him. She… hated him. Truly…

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><p>Severa gritted her teeth as she watched the young prince run around the camp, a stack of tomes held out in front of him. She watched him greet every single person he passed by, calling out their names as if he had them memorized and engraved into his brain. However, since it's Morgan, Severa thought it was possible and she wouldn't be all too surprised if that was the case.<p>

The mercenary huffed and stood by the side. She turned away, pivoting and preparing to leave, when someone called out to her enthusiastically. Of course, it was the prince. She wanted to ignore him, to walk away and just pretend to not hear him but her body's reaction was different. As if on autopilot, she turned around and faced Morgan, who was smiling and waving at her, perfectly balancing the seemingly heavy stack of tomes in one hand. No, Severa was definitely not impressed with that. Kjelle can do it with much more ease!

"You doing something?" the prince asked with eagerness, as if her business was the most interesting thing

"What's it to you?" she spat out with as much venom as she could muster.

Morgan's smile did not falter even for a bit. Gods, it seems as if it even grew wider, according to Severa's eyes, if they were still functioning properly. Of course, she thought he looked ridiculous. Yes, truly, she did and she had to roll her eyes at him. "Well, I was just going to ask if you wanted to… well, talk maybe? Oh, after I drop this off to my tent I mean!" he laughed, as if that was a joke meant to be laughed at.

"And what makes you think I want to talk to you?" she snapped, hoping that this might throw the boy off and leave her alone. Not that he had been clinging to her, no. For the past two days, after he was found by Chrom and Robin in some ruins they had visited lately, Morgan had been reaching out to the other Shepherds, mostly to the other time travelers, talking to them to see if he could bring out forgotten memories. So far, he hasn't initiated a proper conversation with Severa, and this makes it the first time.

"Hmph. I'm busy. Go bother someone else." She huffed, before turning away and flipping her long hair over her shoulder, not even glancing back. "Oh okay… maybe later then?" Morgan called out, to which the mercenary only responded with a 'whatever, do what you want!' comment.

Of course, a part of her knew that Morgan wasn't going to be discouraged just by her snarky responses and she proved herself right when the said prince came running up to her three hours later, looking just as cheerful as he always had been.

"Hey Severa!" He greeted, directing his warm smile at the mercenary. "You don't seem busy right now… wanna hang out?" He had caught her doing nothing, sitting back against a tree, looking at nothing in particular. She cursed herself for spacing out and feeling so lazy sometimes. Maybe she should start following her mother's examples. Severa wanted to shout at him and shoo him away, but something held her back and that wasn't just because he was a prince. She just didn't know why.

"Like I said, do what you want. Gods Morgan, it's not like I have you on a leash!" she muttered instead. Again, this didn't faze him at all. He sat down next to her and leaned back, sighing of satisfaction. It surprised Severa when she realized that she thought of his sigh as melodic.

"So um… Severa. You're Lady Cordelia's daughter right?" he asked. It felt strange having him ask her that question seeing as they almost grew up together. With Cordelia being the captain of the Pegasus Knights back in their own timeline, she had spent most of her days in the palace, playing with the other children. They knew each other well enough to have been called brothers and sisters.

"Yeah and?" Severa asked. Can't he just leave her alone? She didn't understand why he just can't stay away from her like all the others did. It's not like he could get anything out of hanging with her.

"Oh uh… nothing, really. Just making sure." He laughed. She hated his laugh.

"Just making sure? Well sorry if I don't look like my mother. Sorry I'm not as pretty as her!" she grunted. She knew where this was going already anyway. Whenever someone asked her if she was Cordelia's daughter they would always point out how she was so different from her mother. How Cordelia was always so skilled and she was not. Cordelia was pretty and she wasn't. Her mother was nice and responsible while she was lazy and had a rotten attitude. She hated it. Severa hated it so much that she had started pointing it out and comparing them herself. They were going to do it sooner or later anyway. She figured Morgan was no exception.

She watched as the prince finally frowned, his eyebrows furrowing, the look of confusion making its way into his face. _'Yeah, and you're not as great or as nice either'_ Severa was waiting for that statement. Everyone said it, Morgan would too. She watched as he opened his mouth to say something, expecting him to criticize her.

_I won't make my mother's mistakes. I won't fall for some stupid prince who'll just choose someone else over me one day. Despite all my efforts, I won't be noticed anyway. I won't make the same mistakes._

"What? No, I'm just really making sure! Y'know, just so I won't get mixed up and all. But I think you're really pretty Severa. Ever since I first saw you, I thought, wow, she's beautiful. I mean, not like my-mother-beautiful but… well, pretty. I-I dunno! J-Just forget I said anything, I'm rambling way too much again aren't I?" the prince said, a small blush dusting his cheeks.

Severa looked at him. This irritating, loudmouthed, insensitive, dork of a boy named Morgan. She didn't like him at all. But then again, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree and Severa _is _her mother's daughter.

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><p><strong>A.N.<strong>

**Something I came up with while writing my other FE:A fanfic. It's supposed to be a series, muti-chaptered but I'm still debating on whether to continue this or not so for now, it'll be a one-shot.**

**Anyway, MorganxSevera! I don't really ship a particular character with Morgan. I ship all 2nd gen characters with Morgan! Well, probably, except Lucina. I've always thought of her as his older sister since I'm a hardcore Chrobin shipper. So why Severa? I dunno, I just think her tsundere personality is cute with Morgan's cheerful outlook. Plus she's Cordelia's daughter! Cordelia couldn't get Chrom so I have always fantasized that maybe Severa gets Chrom's son. Seriously, that's the closest I can get I dunno**

**Well, thanks for reading my sloppily written oneshot (I may just continue this, I dunno)**


	2. Intro part 2

Morgan wasn't the first boy to ever call Severa pretty. With beauty and charm inherited from a mother as stunning as hers and a few improvements she added herself, she surely had the privilege of hearing those compliments quite a number of times. Of course, her father always said that to her. He'd say she was as beautiful as her mother and one day, she'll be more beautiful than Cordelia. One day. But until that day comes, she's only just behind her mother. In everything.

Other men would tell her the same thing as well, without batting an eye, only for the sake of flirting and to get a favorable response from her. "Like mother, like daughter." They'd all say. "You certainly got your beauty from your mother" she'd hear that sometimes during odd days. At first she was pleased, thankful that she had at least her mother's perfect beauty. Along the way, she just grew tired and irritated towards everything else. It was only for the sake of flirting anyway. She no longer trusted other men's words. Sometimes it felt like even her own father complimented her because it felt like an obligation. Of course she knew it wasn't true, but she felt it anyway.

Then Morgan had to come and say it out of the blue. _"__Ever since I first saw you, I thought, wow, she's beautiful." _

Morgan's words kept replaying in her head over and over again, like a broken record. It wasn't delicately put, like a proper prince should. It wasn't colorful, like Owain's choice of words or flowery like Inigo's. The way Morgan said it was different. It was awkwardly boyish, free of flirtatious intent. It was as if he spoke it completely by accident, like a secret he wished to keep to himself. He said it like it was simply the truth. Of course, he had compared her to Robin, but that was only to be expected of Morgan. Everyone knew how much he loved his mother and when she acknowledged that thought, the fact that she was compared to a woman whom Morgan held such high regards, she was strangely flustered.

_'Shut up! Don't kid yourself! That idiot actually compared you to Robin! Plus, he said that you're not beautiful the same way his mother is. What does that even mean?!' _she would keep thinking as she walked the camp. Despite that, he did say she was pretty and Morgan was sincere, isn't he? He has to be. He wasn't the type to just give out false compliments, right? Severa couldn't bring herself to doubt the prince.

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><p>Apart from being on kitchen duty, tasteless, cheapskate men, hollow words, being compared to her mother, getting denied of what she wants, over clingy people and other things Severa couldn't list, there was something she had grown to hate with so much passion. This one was newly discovered and was currently fighting its way to the top of Severa's most hated list directly under 'getting-compared-to-mother'. That was the reeking box.<p>

In all honesty, Severa was not a slacker when it comes to training. No, she trained just as hard as anyone. She just didn't like to show it that much. When you're from a hopeless future where all you had to do was survive a day longer, training was vital. It was especially more so, when your mother was deemed a calamity with beautiful, slender legs in a war and you had to match and uphold her legacy. She thought that when she went back to the past, where their parents were still alive and they had more chances of beating Grima, training would be easier. She could not have been any more mistaken.

Of course, Robin had to be obsessed with reeking boxes. Such a thing was unheard of in their future. Who would want to summon Risen when everyone else was undead already? However, Robin seemed to live and breathe for reeking boxes, always holding three or more during mornings and summoning Risen in desolate and abandoned areas for training. She would pick a handful of Shepherds and leave them to deal with the Risen for experience, sometimes overlooking and giving them assistance when needed. Of course, they did develop experience and skills with repeated combat and sometimes romantic relationships as well (although in all honesty, Severa didn't find stories that involved "he almost got impaled so I steered my horse and killed off the enemy romantically" or "I had to romantically skewer the enemy because I thought if I didn't, I wouldn't get another chance to confess to her" romantic at all) but Severa was getting tired of it and even dreaded the sight of such boxes.

That morning though, was no exception. Robin carried three of the damned boxes again and resolved to pick three groups of combatants from the future children, to be led by Cynthia, Morgan and Inigo. Severa found herself in the second group along with Gerome, Nah and Noire, who were, of course, to be led the young prince himself, Morgan. The group was relatively quiet; Gerome was his ever silent self, looming above them on top of Minerva as he flew to their destination. Nah didn't say a word; she didn't feel the need to while Noire was mostly just too nervous to create a coherent sentence without waving her talisman around. Even Morgan rarely said anything. He was the picture of calm as they traveled to their destined combat grounds, studying the map his mother gave him before they were dispatched. It was nice to see that maybe he was formulating a plan to keep them alive, but seeing him so silent for more than five minutes obviously unnerved her. Of course, this wasn't the first time she saw the prince in unfiltered concentration, but she just couldn't bring herself to get used to the sight of it. When he furrowed his eyebrows and bit his lower lip slightly, she was reminded of his mother as Severa knew that Robin had those little quirks that Morgan picked up. However, whenever he did that, he looked so much more like his father, serious and authoritative, with a gentle and assuring aura that sheltered everyone else who looked at him. Suddenly, the brand in his right eye would be much more noticeable and everyone else would be reminded of what and who Morgan really is: the tactician prince of House Ylisse, who, along with his sister, led the new Shepherds in the war against the fell-dragon Grima.

Severa knew she must have been staring at him too much as they walked because the tactician prince moved his eyes from the map to meet hers. He looked at her quizzically for a moment before he sent her a worried smile. "Is something wrong?" he asked. Severa only sent him a cold huff and shook her head slightly and went back to looking ahead. Morgan chuckled softly and murmured "I thought so. You're not the type to worry." before going back to analyzing the map. The group stayed silent after that and Severa was careful not to stare again, although she did send him a few glances every now and then.

Once they reached their destination, a dense forest near the foot of a mountain, every member of the group had gathered around hidden under the tall trees, low into the ground. Gerome had scouted some time before they began and brought back news that sent Morgan heatedly rethinking and reformulating new tactics. According to Gerome's report, there are more Risen than what was expected of a reeking box, so Morgan could only speculate that another group had appeared shortly after the first have been summoned by the accursed box. Such turn of events was not unheard of, yet rare in nature. A reeking box could only summon about 10-15 Risen at most, given their designated location but with the appearance of another group, it could be said that there were a total of 25-30, and they were clearly outnumbered and unprepared especially since they weren't graced by the presence of a healer. However, being the stubborn tactician Morgan strived to be, he refused to admit that they were unprepared. Outnumbered yes, but unprepared was unforgivable by his mother's standards, and by extension, his too. A good tactician must always be prepared despite any circumstances, always one step ahead. And so, Morgan continued formulating a plan based on the map Gerome had redrawn for him.

"It seems this group is a mixed of long and short ranged fighters, many of which are tome wielders, knights and bowmen. A few happen to be mercenaries too. It's a good thing mother had given us a well balanced team. Since there seems to be no fliers present, Gerome and for a brief moment, even Nah, could dominate the skies. Noire, you go with Gerome for a combination of long and short range attacks. While on air, Noire can focus shooting the enemies from above, mainly the mercenaries and mages. Keep an eye out on the mages and the archers, land when deemed necessary, Gerome, you can attack then, but mostly focus on the mages." Morgan instructed with practiced authority.

Gerome would have protested to being paired with Noire, but a pointed look from the talisman-carrying archer forced his mouth closed. Instead, he grunted in agreement and went to prepare another saddle on Minerva. Morgan then turned to Nah and Severa who were awaiting their orders.

"The same goes for the both of you. A combination of long and short ranged attacks. Severa will deal with the bowmen before they reach Gerome, Nah can take you up on air for a short amount of time to transport and support you. Then finish of whatever else the two of them fails to pick off." He said, offering the two girls a confident smile.

"And what about _you_?" Severa asked suspiciously. It was not that she thought he would simply lounge around and do nothing. She would never admit it, but she felt quite concerned with leaving Morgan alone without a partner. The prince merely shrugged which didn't help appease the mercenary at all.

"What, don't tell me you don't have a plan for yourself?!" she wouldn't believe it; Morgan was too smart after all. The prince laughed and placed his hand on the hilt of his sword. "I'll take care of the knights, their defense might seem strong, but it's actually weak against magic. Whatever else, I'll finish off with my sword."

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><p>Thirty minutes into the fight, Severa had no idea what had become of Gerome and Noire. Last she heard, they had wiped out the mages, just as she and Nah had done with the bowmen to secure Gerome's uninterrupted flight. Morgan went off on his own and she had lost sight of him five minutes after he started scorching a nearby bush. Plus, through sheer bad luck, she was separated from Nah after the manakete chased of a group of mages good distance away, something she was cursing under her breath for a while now.<p>

She wanted to call out her partner's name to search for her, but she knew that would be unadvisable, given her current location, surrounded by trees, and how she did not even know if there were or how many enemies were left. She opted to get out of the forest instead and walk up to the foot of the mountain where it was surprisingly clear, quite devoid of trees. She figured Gerome and Noire could not have been separated as well and Nah could just take flight, so if there was any chance of finding her, it would be there, in the clearing, where she was easily visible from above.

Five minutes of waiting and she could already see a wyvern coming to her. Relieved that finally, someone found her, she waved her hands and called for Gerome to fly closer. Five meters from her and the wyvern started descending towards her, dangerously fast. A glimmer and Severa saw an axe rearing up its ugly head at her. Severa realized that this wyvern was not Minerva, and that was not Gerome sitting there.

Severa fumbled with her sword. She had let her guard down and allowed her grip to slacken. Before she could bring it up, she was sure that she would be hacked up by then. So much for being combat ready like her mother. She figured she had much to learn. To be fair, she couldn't distinguish Minerva from the other wyverns like Gerome and Cherche could. Plus, the wyvern's hulking body always made it impossible for someone standing in front of it to see the rider and Minerva didn't really use any distinctive armor either.

Before she could think of anything else, a figure appeared from behind, stepping in front her. It was Morgan, in all his princely glory. What wasn't so charming however was how he shoved her to the ground without warning. Severa landed on her back with a loud thud and a groan. Morgan crouched down just in time, narrowly missing the axe that the Risen swung frantically. It flew over them low enough for the wyvern to land however, the Risen pulled his wyvern back up and took to the skies again, ready to dive back at them. Before it could, Morgan flipped his tome open and with practiced aim, incinerated the wyvern and its rider. Both fell to the ground before it vanished into a purple miasma. Morgan's arcfire tome crumbled into pieces in his hands.

"Well, that's the last of it. And I thought there were no fliers." Morgan stated, turning back to Severa, who was watching him intently. Noticing her still on the ground, Morgan ran up to her and extended a hand. She was still staring up at him in wonder, amazed at how graceful he had moved just then, chanting out the spell he used on the Risen. It took her a few seconds longer to break out of her trance and when she did, she finally took notice of the blush on her cheeks. She sent him a glare, the most threatening one she could muster and slapped his hand away.

"Are you an idiot? What sort of _prince _shoves a lady to the ground, huh? Ugh, talk about rude!" she scolded, getting up. Morgan threw her an alarmed look and waved his hands frantically. "Ah n-no! It's just… I saw the wyvern was about to swing his axe a-and he was flying really low, he could have hit you! A-And there was no time to tell you to duck so- I'm really, really sorry Severa!" Morgan apologized, panicking.

"Whatever! You're an insult to every other prince around. Chrom would never do that and yet you just—" before she could finish, Morgan perked up and grabbed her tightly. With strength she never knew he had, Morgan turned and dipped her low into the ground as if dancing. He extended a hand away, palm open.

"Morgan what are you—" as she talked, a sword burrowed into the tactician prince's hand, its blade digging into the space between his ring and middle fingers. Morgan grimaced, a pained grunt escaping from his lips. It was another Risen. Severa had dropped her sword a moment ago when she fell on the ground and Morgan had used up his tome. His sword was missing from his belt as well. Severa was panicking now, close to screaming. She could see the blade digging deeper into his hand.

Morgan took a deep, slow breath and mumbled something inaudible. Suddenly, from his opened, bleeding palm, a wave of flames burst out, burning the Risen. It disappeared shortly; the sword stuck on Morgan's hand fell on the ground with a clang. The prince ended up kneeling on the ground, with Severa in tow.

"That was another surprise wasn't it? I didn't think that simply reciting a spell without a tome would work but I guess it's good I tried huh? Oh and I'm really sorry about that… are you alright? Severa?" he asked with a gentle smile on his face. He wasn't even paying attention to his hand. "Severa?" he repeated.

"Are you really an idiot? Are you daft? Morgan you stupid, idiotic, daft of an egghead! What is your problem? Don't you ever think before you act? Can you not act on a whim? You just start rushing around and doing everything you want to do!" Severa exclaimed. She didn't know what she was supposed to say, all she knew was that Morgan is bleeding and hurt and it's because he tried to protect her.

"W-Well. You'd get hit if I didn't." Morgan said, now examining his hands. Severa felt torn at that. She was happy that Morgan would do that for her, but also worried and angry that he had hurt himself in the process. The least she could do was thank him or say sorry for yelling at him. Say that she appreciates it.

"And look where that got you genius, you're hurt and-" _and now I'm worried about you, you idiot. _She wanted to add that but she just couldn't say it out loud. "…and now everyone's going to blame me for it!" she ended up saying instead.

"No they wouldn't. They'd know that I did it because someone was in danger. Or I was careless… either one." He laughed. Severa hated that laugh. "Wouldn't you care if you get hurt?" she asked then.

Morgan looked at her like she was a new book waiting to be opened. He looked genuinely interested in her. Then he chuckled and clenched his wounded hand into a tight fist, blood oozing out into her arm. "So long as someone you want to protect exists, then pain is nonexistent. Even the wisest men could act like fools in extremely dire situations." Severa looked at this boy in front of her. The son of Chrom and Robin. Everyone said he was more of his mother's. Severa could disagree. Morgan was so much like his father in so many ways.

The rapid beating of her heart was saying that she was so much like Cordelia as well.

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><p><strong>A.N<strong>

**To be honest, I really forgot about this story. Well not really forgot, I just thought this was finished and I marked it as complete so I didn't think about picking it up again. But then I realized there were some comments about wanting to read more and I completely forgot about it. So a month or two went by and this just gathered dust in one corner so I'm very sorry to those who have been waiting for a new chapter. It took this long so hopefully the others wouldn't.**

**I haven't written Severa and Morgan for quite a while so they may be a bit OOC in this one. I find Morgan's over cheerfulness even harder to write than Severa's snarky attitude strangely so I hope I didn't do so much of a bad job of writing this one.**

**Well, like before, thanks for reading, this sloppily written chapter once again. Reviews and constructive criticisms to improve my writing and get it right are always welcome. Til next time!**


	3. Intro part 3

The sky already had an orange hue, a sign of the passing afternoon, emphasized by the slight streak of red in the horizon, when Morgan's unit had prepared to trudge back to camp. The group had been delayed for quite a while and Severa had guessed that they might be the last of the three units to return. Regrouping had been hard enough already, with all of them surrounded by the thick forest and having been separated so far apart each other. Gerome and Noire who remained together all throughout the battle were the first to spot the tactician and the mercenary. Nah appeared later on in a slight panic, her eyes quickly landing on Severa the instant she emerged from the forest. After regrouping, Gerome and Morgan scouted twice to make sure no enemy Risen were left and Noire treated the acquired wounds of every unit member except Morgan, who failed to mention his wounded hand, already bandaged and hidden in the inside of his coat sleeves. Severa wondered why he didn't bother saying anything; when she looked at him questioningly, he merely smiled at her and shook his head. To say that it confused and annoyed Severa was an understatement. Somehow, she felt guiltier about it.

It could be said that the way back to camp was livelier than earlier. With Morgan's head clear of thoughts of any upcoming battles, he was back to chattering and laughing like his usual self. His audience included Nah who responded willingly, and Noire, who laughed when the prince made jokes. Severa walked behind, eyeing the three silently as they walked on. She would glance up at the wyvern lord flying above them from time to time, but she mostly kept her eyes forward, locked on Morgan, thinking of absolutely nothing but him, her and her new-found feelings for him.

She was starting to think that if there's anything she absolutely didn't need, it would be the growing crush she had for the tactician prince. She wasn't an idiot who would deny or turn a blind eye to it, no. She was absolutely certain that after two eventful occasions with him, she had started to develop unwanted feelings for Morgan, something she had time and time again, told herself not to do. It was so sudden that it had overwhelmed her, thinking that it only took a simple compliment and one act of gallantry to get her attracted to the prince when usually, a horde of praise and a mountain of gifts and favors failed to get even her slightest interests. She had raised high standards for men and added near impossible demands, so it was vexing to think about how Morgan could tear it all down and get her blushing with just a simple smile. It was not amusing at all.

Deciding that she was close to treading on dangerous waters and breaking one of the most important rules she had set up for herself, Severa had decided to put a stop to her growing feelings, keep herself from feeling any more attracted to Morgan than she already had. It was bad enough that it had started, but it would be worse to keep it up. There were a lot of reasons why, but it was mainly because she would just get her hopes up and get disappointed. It would hurt terribly, and she would be lying to herself if she said she wasn't afraid of it.

She had learned enough from Cordelia; her mother was the best example. If someone as perfect as her wasn't deemed worthy to be Chrom's wife, then how could Severa guarantee acquiring Morgan's attention?

She watched as he continued to talk to Noire and Nah. The way they laughed and conversed with him told her that they had better chances with the prince, while she was there, just walking behind and staring at his back. She wondered if this was the closest she can get to him. Without wasting another second, she immediately answered her own question with a silent yes. She could just laugh at herself for trying to dismiss her feelings in its earliest state. She had just begun to feel it and yet she was already trying to dispel it. Well, she figured it was already a hopeless case and she wouldn't settle with only looking at his back all the time, with him moving forward and her, always chasing after him. Maybe Cordelia could bear with it, chase after Chrom for so long, and maybe her father could too, with the way he waited for Cordelia to love him back. But that was not a trait Severa had inherited from her parents. Her heart is not so resilient and she is not hopeful enough to dream for so long.

Severa could easily admit to herself that yes, she was growing fond of and attracted to Morgan, but she could just as easily say that no, she will not be contented with only having to look at his back, while watching him walk away from her. Because more than anything, she wants him to look at her, she wants to look at his honest, brown eyes. She wants to see him smile at her, face her, walk side by side with her and maybe hold her hand along the way. She wanted all that.

"Heeey, lady Severa?" an obnoxious voice which she immediately recognized as Morgan's snapped her out of her thoughts. It took her a while but she realized that she had stopped walking and the prince was standing right in front of her and looking at her in a confused and worried manner. His hand was inches away from taking hers and she noticed him pull back hesitantly (or it could have been wishful thinking on her part). She looked around and noticed the others were standing way off in the distance, waiting for them. Morgan waved the others to go on ahead, which they did reluctantly, leaving just the two of them standing there.

"I was wondering why you suddenly stopped walking. You weren't responding when I called you so I was wondering—is something wrong?" he asked. Of course she couldn't just say that she was just agonizing over her self-proclaimed unrequited love for him and wishing that he would look at her (which he was currently doing, much to her embarrassment and unsaid delight), so she settled for her usual reply. "It's none of your business, dork. Don't pry." She growled, keeping her eyes away from his, which were honestly looking at her. She was afraid that if she accidently locked eyes with him, she'd spill everything out and just confess. Instead, she pushed past him and started walking once again, albeit slowly so that he could run after her.

"Sorry. I was just worried. Hey, are you still guilty about my hand? Because you know I did say you didn't have to, right?" he asked as he jogged to keep up with her. She flashed him an annoyed look. "Of course not! I already apologized so why would I be? But you know you're still an idiot for not having Noire treat that! What is up with that? Is your head working right or did a Risen actually manage to chip off a part of your brain?"

"I think I'd know if they did managed that. But hey—what if that's the cause of my amnesia?" Severa rolled her eyes at his statement, unable to believe that this came out of Morgan, the genius tactician's son who apparently inherited his mother's wits. She was starting to think that maybe it was his father's sense of humor that he had inherited, lacking and dry, pitifully so. She would bet on that for sure.

"Still, I think this is just a minor wound. If you could compare it to Gerome's nearly broken shoulder, this is nothing. It's just a waste of a healing staff." Morgan said, waving his hand around, bandaged and cleaned by Severa herself. "Also, you've done a well-enough job wrapping it. Why don't you become a cleric? We need more of those, just so you know."

"Hmph. I prefer swinging a sword than a staff any day, thank you very much. Anyway, weren't you listening to Frederick when he said all wounds must be treated immediately? Even a paper cut can cause an infection and you'll just be in the way if that happens."

"Wow, are you concerned about me?"

"Someone's being cocky."

Morgan chuckled and placed his hands in his pockets. "Yeah, I know. Sorry. Anyway, don't worry about it, I'm sure it'll be fine." Although Severa wasn't, in any way, satisfied with his answer, she didn't reply after that, instead, opting to walk in silence for a while. Morgan looked content just walking with her and it seemed as if he didn't have any plans of starting up a new conversation with her. After taking a few steps, she sighed and discreetly glanced over at him.

"Why don't you go back to those guys now? I'm sure those two lady friends of yours would enjoy resuming your little chat with them." Severa didn't notice it, but there was slight annoyance and a tint of jealousy laced in the tone of her voice. If Morgan noticed it, he didn't show.

"Hmm? Oh they've already gone a good distance ahead. I'd have to run to catch up to them and that would mean leaving you here by yourself. Isn't that rude?" he asked, turning to her before looking away again.

"Besides, they've already laughed at all my jokes; I figured I'd try them on you this time. Y'know, lift up that frown of yours. You're starting to look like my sister."

"And what makes you think I'd even so much as smile at your jokes?" Severa snapped. For all she knew, he had Lucina's lame sense of humor.

"I don't know… I just figured you would."

"Ugh well the only thing you'll get from me are insults, I'm telling you this now."

Morgan simply smiled at her as he scratched his cheek. "I guess that's good too." Severa looked at him in surprise. He was willing to take that in? The only other person she knew who would swat away her insults like they were nothing was Inigo, and that was all because he wanted to ask her out for a date, which she always turned down without fail.

"That's good too? Are you a masochist? Naga, that's gross Morgan!" The prince held his hands up defensively. Severa would never tell him, but the sight of him panicking was quite amusing to see because it made her think that even princes could lose their composure. Of course, Morgan wasn't always composed like a real prince should, but he didn't always panic as well, even in battle.

"No! No, it's not that! It's just that talking to you—I'd take any excuse to talk to you!" he blurted out on a whim. It seemed like he realized what he had said as a small blush crept to his cheeks. Severa mentally screamed at herself to keep herself from doing the same, but with little success. Her face already felt hot. "That's the same as saying you like talking to me! So you do enjoy getting insulted!"

"No wait, it's—how do I explain it? Uh… it's just… you're one of the few people who would actually talk down to me. I mean, it's good that everyone's so nice but I don't know if they're doing that because I'm the Exalt and the tactician's son. Your snarky attitude is refreshing so I really enjoy talking with you. It'd be nice if we could talk a lot more. I know I would enjoy it." He smiled that boyish smile that told Severa that everything he said was true and free of any flirtatious intent.

"And you think that's going to flatter me? Morgan, telling a lady that she has a snarky attitude is just rude! I can't believe you!" Severa stomped away, walking faster and leaving a confused Morgan looking after her. As she marched quickly, she slid her hands to her blush tinted cheeks to cover them. She silently cursed the prince repeatedly in her head for what he had just said.

_'Stupid, annoying Morgan! I was supposed to put a stop to these worthless feelings! How am I going to do that now? Morgan, you big dolt!' _

It seemed like it was too early to make her forget about her developing attraction for Morgan after all. Another day will come for that. As for now, Severa figured she'll have to deal with these feelings in another way.

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><p><strong>A.N.<strong>

**So that's chapter 3 then! This took way too long. It's probably because I was distracted, but mostly because I'm not good at writing romance stories at all. Seriously. The pace always goes too fast or too slow building. I had to rewrite this chapter a lot of times because it just doesn't feel right.**

**Oh and also, I think I should start responding to all those lovely reviews you lovely people dropped off right? So here goes...**

**HellfireSupremacy: That's another way to look at it. I can it imagine Severa and Cordelia having one of those mother-daughter moments and Severa goes 'I snagged your unrequited love's son mom! Who's the better woman now?' or maybe that's just me hahaha. **

**And gods M!Robin/Noire. It's like if they do happen, I'll start worrying about Noire because I don't think Tharja will be all that welcoming about it**

**Morgan really just comes up as cheerful and optimistic to me most of the time. I mean, I wouldn't be too proud about having to admit that I banged my head on a post/wall trying to remember my father**

**EarendilElwing: Thank you so much! I just hope I can keep up the quality of writing. I get inconsistent as time passes**

**GoLdensummertime: ikr! I mostly see them as siblings or just friends in the fanfics. I think it's because of their supports. I love the pairing but in my opinion, their supports were horrible. Not one of my favorites, really.**

**Remepie: oh I'm tempted to do that too haha. Honestly, I still have no idea how this ends so we'll just have to see what happens and who ends up with who**

**Gunlord500: Thanks so much! I mostly see Severa hating or criticizing her mother's unrequited love for Chrom in the game so I thought about how it would go if she had the same experience, albeit different ending, hopefully**

**Death-Prince-3: Thank you very much! I do hope I can keep writing them well enough. I'm notorious for writing characters as ooc as time passes orz**

**EternalKing: Thank you so much! That's exactly why I wrote this I guess haha. Not a very popular pairing, it seems**

**AAAAAnd that's it! Again, thank you so much for taking the time to read, review, fave or follow this story! It's very much appreciated! Love you guys!**


	4. Not All Books Are Reliable

There are two ways to deal with unwanted feelings: you either ignore them and forget, or acknowledge them and do something about it. Severa chose to ignore and forget. So far, she hasn't gone anywhere with it. Every time she tried, Morgan would always come out and make her remember that she was slowly and definitely falling for him. She was beginning to wonder if he was actually doing it on purpose.

Then she finally came to the conclusion that no, it was not easy forgetting, acting indifferent was out of the question. This fleeting attraction wasn't fleeting at all, it was real. Very, dangerously, pathetically real and it was certainly going to remain there for quite a bit of time. And here she was, laughing and hating her mother for falling in love with a man so out of her league. If she looked at herself and Morgan, she'd think she didn't have a chance. Morgan was a prince. He was (kind of, no really. He's just kind of) attractive, he's smart and witty, he's friendly. He's well-liked overall. He was a male version of his mother and a bit like his father in a way. Severa was… well, she's Severa. She's… just a mercenary. She's snarky, she's blunt, she's unapproachable, and she's the untalented, ungifted daughter of Cordelia, the perfect. Would she have a chance then, given all that? She'd think that she didn't.

But really, if she was going to do something about this attraction and act on her feelings, (because, Naga help her, she just couldn't ignore and deny them anymore) then the time of self-loathing was over. She's Severa, _the_ mercenary. She's_ the _daughter of Cordelia the perfect. She's pretty, she's blunt (Morgan said that was a good thing so Severa's taking it as a redeeming and positive quality, no matter what anyone else says), she's practical, she's got her own set of wonderful skills, along with those she learned from her mother (something she's rather proud of), she's classy, she's elegant, she's graceful, on and off the battlefield. She's Severa and she gets whatever she wants and if she really wants it, then maybe she wouldn't mind working extra for it. Call her spoiled, but with all the other potential rivals out there, she had to encourage herself and be assertive to get her man.

She had to think that she actually had a chance with him, royalty or not. If she was going to make the same mistake her mother made, then she could at least avoid all the other little mistakes and wrong assumptions that came along with it. If Cordelia hesitated, the she wouldn't. Naga, she really wouldn't.

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><p>Severa was not used to courting and wooing a man. It was always the other way around with her. It was the men who tried to catch her attention and acquire her interests, not her. Of course she flirted with a few men here and there before, but that was nothing serious, just for entertainment. This was serious business and she wasn't going to use her flirting tactics on Morgan. And to think she was the one who always offered love tips to everyone else.<p>

She racked her brain thinking of a way to actually get Morgan to notice her without looking too desperate. Should she give him flowers? No, Morgan wasn't a girl. Bugs then? She knew he loved bugs. But she didn't. They were disgusting and she wasn't going to touch one. Besides, Morgan would definitely wonder why she'd give him something like that so suddenly if she ever did get to catch one. Actually, was there any other way to get him to notice her without giving a gift? It seems so sudden, maybe that can wait when she's established a good footing on their relationship. So what can she do then?

Pacing around camp certainly didn't help and all it gave her was a few worried stares, Morgan not one of them. Severa then decided to head over to her parents' shared tent and took a seat in a quiet corner, sighing of relief of finding it empty. She continued to think, and think, and think until she felt like she couldn't go on anymore. Groaning in frustration, she stood up and harshly kicked the nearest chest around: her mother's book chest.

She groaned even loudly as the box turned over and spilled clattering her mother and father's collection of books. They were a rather small collection when compared to her aunt Sumia, Robin or Miriel's collection, but still, it was quite a lot. She crouched down to pick up the books and set them back inside the chest, not wanting to leave a mess. As she worked, she'd look at the titles and skim them over. She knew some of them from childhood: thick volumes of stories of all kinds, tales of Pegasus knights, of past exalts, tomes full of music sheets and all the other kinds. She placed them all away with vague interest. Then, a fairly thick, fairly old book caught her eye. It was bound in smooth, red covers with silver linings, the tome itself covered and wrapped tightly in rope, as if to keep anyone from flipping it open, telling everyone to leave it alone. If anything, it had the opposite effect on Severa. She tried to pry the rope away, move it slightly to reveal the title which it covered faithfully. When it refused to budge, she grabbed the small dagger she kept strapped to her thighs and cut the thick rope off with swift three strikes.

She frowned as she read the title out loud. "'Make Him Fall for You in a Fortnight?' Who reads this stuff? Mother can't seriously be reading this?" She exclaimed, holding it away from her slightly, examining it from afar. A part of her wanted to believe that it was Sumia who gave it to Cordelia, being the romantic she is. But a part of her knew for sure that this belonged to her mother.

She flipped the book open and read a few of its contents. There were tips, some of them quite ridiculous and embarrassing but most were… well, tolerable. Notes and markings were all over the pages, looking quite the same as Robin's tactical volumes. Severa quickly closed it and set it aside, going back to putting back the others scattered on the floor. Once she finished, she threw the sliced pieces of rope away and grabbed her mother's dating book and snuck away from the tent as discretely as possible. She decided that she'll inspect it further in the confines of her own tent; after all, she was worried her mother or, Naga help her, her father, would walk in on her while she read the horrifying object.

However, she hadn't gotten five meters away from the tent when Cordelia had spotted her came running up to her, smiling happily at seeing her daughter. As she stood in front of her daughter, her observant eyes immediately caught sight of the book before Severa could hide it. "Severa! There you are. I was hoping if… what do you have there?" she asked, leaning a bit to the side to look at what item her daughter had desperately hid from her. Severa quickly sported a slight blush and side stepped to avoid her mother.

"I-It's nothing mother. Just… a book I remembered you reading to me when I was… younger." It was definitely, obviously a lie. Cordelia would never read dating tips to her daughter before bed. That was sure.

"Oh? Then should I read it to you again. I know this may sound ridiculous, but we can bond through it."

"Mother, that is ridiculous. I'm not a baby anymore!" Severa had to watch as her mother's face fell immediately. Despite how rude she may talk down to her mother, it still tugged her heart whenever Cordelia gave her that pained look. Back in Severa's time, she had seen Cordelia look at her like that too many times already, and it was almost always because of a fight. Then she remembered that that look was the expression she last saw on her mother's face before she died. Ever since then, Severa was careful to make her mother too upset.

"I-I'll… I'll look for another book we can read together if you want." She stated quickly upon seeing her mother's crestfallen look when she refused. At her offer, Cordelia bounced back quickly and agreed, sending her daughter a beaming smile and an eager nod. Before Cordelia could suggest anything more and lead to another argument, Severa quickly excused herself and ran off to the direction of her tent. However, she was almost there when a figure suddenly appeared and knocked her off her feet, sending the book she held so tightly in her hands, flying.

"Would it kill you to look where you're going and walk slowly, you walking disaster?" She cursed, looking at the person who knocked her over. Her eyes met with brown ones, confused and blinking at her. There, Morgan sat on the ground opposite her, rubbing his head in confusion. Surrounding him were tomes and books of all kinds, all of which he had borrowed from his mother again. "Ah gods, I'm really sorry Severa! I couldn't see where I was going. Here let me help you up." Before he could finish talking, Morgan was quickly back on his feet and offering her a hand. She hesitantly took it, her eyes focused more on the paperbacks that scattered on the ground than on the prince in front of her. Once she was back up as well, Morgan started gathering up the scattered books, sending Severa a nervous feeling, lest he pick up something that wasn't his.

"Ah that's mine—" she swiped her book from the ground before Morgan could pick up the red covered, silver lined paperback. Once she had it safely tucked in her hands, she ran off again, not bothering to look back or wait for Morgan's response. This time, she kept her eyes on the way, and her head clear of anything but the thought of getting to her tent. Once she got to her destination, she entered her tent in a rush, nearly tripping along the way and surprising Cynthia who shared the tent with her. The Pegasus knight sat up quickly, eyeing the mercenary curiously. It wasn't everyday that Severa would rush in red-faced and panting, clutching a book in her arms, against her chest.

"Hey Sev! What's the rush? You look out of it." The Pegasus knight asked and Severa wordlessly shook her head and fell to her cot, breathing hard and looking at nothing but the ceiling. It was a few moments of silence before she finally evened her breathing. She lifted up the red book she held tightly and Cynthia could see her scowl turn into a horrified grimace as Severa read the title silently before throwing it out of the tent and screaming loudly into her pillow.

Apparently, she had no use for the "_Complete and Detailed Maneuvers and Tactics For and Against Wyvern Lords" _volume one of seven.

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><p><strong>A.N.<strong>

**The first three chapters were actually just the um... prologue or the intro. Actually, the story should have ended there as all of this is just about Severa getting a crush on Morgan when she told herself not to. But thinking about it, if I ended it there, it would probably suck because you guys wouldn't get a proper closure and even I don't want that. So, I put up this chapter sloppily and rushed it so its quality is worse than usual but I guess this will just have to go on until it properly ends. Just don't ask me how, even I don't know. I'm sorry I suck like that**

**Death-Prince-3: good to see that they are then! I have to keep reviewing their supports just to see if I stick to them. Just a bit more and I'm about to memorize them hahaha. Well we'll get there at one point although I can already see it now... **

**Cloy552: Inigo could take classes from Morgan, that I surely recommend**

**Well, this is another late update but I appreciate all of you guys waiting despite my constant tardiness! Love you guys, and thanks!**

**Reviews are always welcomed with open arms and kisses haha**


	5. You Can Always Count On Inigo!

Severa tsked again as she flipped the _"__Complete and Detailed Maneuvers and Tactics For and Against Wyvern Lords"_ in irritation. Okay so maybe it was just ridiculous of her to try and put her faith on a dating book that probably wouldn't even work. It sure didn't work for her mother but she had hoped that it would for her. Her frustration didn't simply stem from the fact that she tried to ask for help from a tome, as ridiculous and desperate as it may sound, but no, it was more from the fact that Morgan surely had the cursed dating book. He could be leafing through it right now just as she was leafing through his. He could be thinking of all sorts of things now. Of course Severa assumed that Morgan would surely know that it was hers. Robin didn't look like the type to refer or read such things and Severa was probably the only one who bumped into him while carrying a volume. Unless Sumia was running and tripping around with books again, although it was unlikely.

She groaned again, setting the prince's tome aside, looking up at the ceiling once again. Fortunately, it was just her inside her tent now, as Cynthia had left earlier, sensing Severa's frustration which was visibly evident.

The mercenary thought. She could just leave the book with Morgan and deny it was hers. Of course it wasn't really hers, it was Cordelia's. But that was enough reason to not just leave it with the prince. Her mother would surely come looking for it sooner or later. Besides, Morgan would probably ask about the Wyvern tome so there was no escape. Well anyway, Severa certainly won't mention it to him unless he himself brought it up. She was too embarrassed to ask. If Morgan was considerate enough not to mention it at all, then she would just have to take it back herself, as subtly as she can.

Now pushing that thought aside, she went back to worrying about even more pressing matters. She thought, 'what else can she do?' She must have drawn Morgan's attention to her now, even if it wasn't the best way possible. She just had to keep it. But how? She went back to thinking of different ways just as she had done the day before. Referring to her mother's book is out of the question, as she didn't have it at all. She couldn't ask her mother either. Cordelia knew nothing about charming a prince. If she did, then Severa would have been a princess by now. Lucina had no knowledge about love either. Cynthia's head was just full of pegasi and heroes. Robin? Robin could be a good option seeing as she was always approachable and easy to talk to. She also knew when to keep things a secret. Severa would have gone to Robin, except… she was Morgan's most adored woman, his mother and she found that thought quite awkward for some reason.

Risking running into the prince, she finally decided to venture outside her tent and wandered around, her head off in the idea clouds.

She had gotten quite far from her tent when she had bumped into another person. This had to be an unlucky day. How many times should she run into someone for today? Scowling, she looked up and was met with a grinning Inigo. This was incredibly bad timing.

"Hey beautiful." He said in a low, seductive voice that only succeeded in making Severa wince noticeably. "What?" she snapped in the harshest way she could, stepping back to put some distance away from him. Inigo didn't answer immediately, he scrutinized her, studied her expression before trying his best at charming her. "Aaaand the stunning tigress once again bears her fangs. Enchanting as always, Severa." He sighed, crossing his arms and giving her an adoring look which she returned with a disgusted glare.

"Get to the point Inigo, I don't have time for your senseless dawdle."

"Okay, okay. I was just getting there. Don't walk out on me love." He smiled, reaching out for her dramatically. Severa decided that he had been spending too much time with Owain lately; it was a miracle that he wasn't naming his weapons and screaming out "Radiant Dawn" or whatever war cry Owain usually produces.

Severa took another step back for good measure, crossed her arms and eyed him impatiently, tapping her foot on the ground to emphasize her growing irritation for the fellow mercenary. Inigo seemed to be taking his sweet time for added dramatic effect which didn't help soothe Severa's foul mood.

"You look like there's something on your mind that you need help with. Anything good 'ol Inigo could do to help?" he asked, pointing to himself. Severa sighed and placed her hands on her hips, looking distastefully at the man. "And what makes you think there is something bothering me? Can't it be that I just simply saw you coming and my mood automatically dropped at the sight of you?"

Inigo only chuckled, taking Severa's response as a joke. "Oh if only that was as simple as you put it. Actually, when you see me, you make sure to side step away from me and throw in a kick for good measure most of the time." He laughed again, although this time it was half hearted and he winced at the thought.

"I do not! I'm not as violent as you describe me!" she growled. Granted she would kick him sometimes, but definitely not most of the time. "Okay so maybe just a bit… but still. Really, is something bothering you? I could help if you want. As a friend?" he offered again, this time looking as sincere as he could. When Inigo looked sincere, he was serious. And when he was serious, things go well… most of the time.

"Fine. But make sure this is good."

"Of course it will be! You're talking to ME! Now, let's get some tea and—"

"No." Severa very nearly gave him a kick when he held his hands up.

"Okay! No tea! I was just trying to lift your spirits up, calm down!"

"Inigo, the only thing getting lifted here, is my foot from the ground if you don't get serious."

"I'm getting there, I'm getting there. I'll just have to turn off my Inigo charm."

"Your what?"

"My Inigo charm. It won't do if you start falling for me while we talk. Although I think it might be too late?" he winked.

* * *

><p>Severa couldn't believe that after a damned book, she was asking a failure of a philanderer for romantic advice. The one who has never succeeded. Even once. She stared at Inigo for an extended amount of time, the other, growing quite conscious of her stare. They merely just sat there near the weapons tent one afternoon, doing nothing special. It really was nothing special, nothing new. They had done this a number of times before, talked or sat beside each other when one of them needed to talk to the other about something. It was a sort of ritual or tradition that wouldn't have worked on anyone else except for the two of them.<p>

"S-So um…" Severa started, a blush spreading to her cheeks as she turned away from him. It was Inigo's turn to stare, waiting for her patiently as he sat beside her, twirling a little flower between his fingers. His other hand massaged his stomach as he was sure that it was already sporting a bruise after the female mercenary had kicked him unforgivingly. In Severa's defense, she had warned him. Severa seemed to have a hard time saying what she wanted to say, but Inigo refused to interrupt her mumblings.

"U-Um... let's say there's this girl who falls for a boy who's well… popular around the ladie—everyone. And this girl wants to catch his attention. And maybe she already did b-but what should she do to keep his attention? I mean, this guy is kind of an airhead and—and well, that's just it! How?" Severa released a sigh of relief, finally having gotten it off her chest. Inigo watched as she relaxed slightly, but noticed how her blush didn't just leave her face soon after.

"Oh Severa, you know you don't have to do anything special." At Inigo's answer, Severa visibly brightened up. It was notable how she sighed of relief, despite how silent it came out and a ghost of a smile made its way on her face. But it wasn't long after that her mood came tumbling down as he continued to speak. "You know you have always had my attention and I'm willing to offer it all to you without you even asking! Although it'd be nice if you didn't call me and airhead." Severa wordlessly made an attempt to stand up and leave, but Inigo immediately darted forward and grabbed her hand.

"I was just kidding! I'm sorry!" he had an apologetic smile that seemed to be bordering sympathetic. Severa sat back down and gave him a glare that warned him that she was not giving him another chance. He seemed to have taken the hint as he turned serious and looked up for a moment before turning back to her.

"So… you're in love huh?" he smiled. Severa could have sworn he sounded almost sad. Almost. But that was probably just her imagination. After all, Inigo was never sad. Or rarely sad. The only time she actually saw him forlorn was when his parents died and his face then was something Severa didn't want to see ever again. She almost wanted to stop talking and change the subject, but she looked away and grunted.

"W-What? I said no such thing! I said, it was another girl! Another girl! Someone else was asking me for advice! Don't go assuming things you blockhead!" she countered, turning into an even darker shade of red as she spoke. The male mercenary just gave her a hesitant laugh although it sounded a tad bit forced if Severa knew better.

"Hmm… keeping his attention huh? Why not just talk to him all the time? That'll help you grow closer as friends I suppose. Then that'll only go on until a mutual romantic attraction gets developed."

"I said it wasn't me, stupid." Severa looked at Inigo, eyes wandering all over his face, uncharacteristically serious despite the small smile he made. She's only seen him this serious in battle. It was strange to see it outside of battle and directed solely at her. She quickly looked away, finding it hard to maintain eye contact.

"Does that work for you?" she asked, keeping her voice cynical sounding to maintain her usual façade. Inigo's reply didn't come quickly. He had paused somewhere. When Severa glanced back at him, he was looking down at the flower in his hands, continuing to twirl it around. The action continued on wordlessly, enough to make Severa slightly uncomfortable. She knew he wasn't really thinking of his answer, it was more like he was contemplating something, remembering a few memories from far back.

"I… used to think so. But now, I'm not so sure." He finally muttered quietly, pretending as if Severa didn't notice it. There it was again. There was disappointment in his voice. And it wasn't the same disappointment he displayed when he gets turned down by other women. It was a different one, more serious. As if he had just lost the war. Or the love of his life.

"The ladies turn me down even before we could talk! Honestly, you'd think I was planning something else when I ask them out for a cup of tea! We're just going to talk and enjoy a cup of tea! Does it hurt so much to agree to that?" And just like that, sad Inigo was gone and the cheerful mercenary was back.

Severa certainly hadn't heard him sound like that before, but if he was laughing cheerfully again, then maybe it was nothing. Now, communication. If Inigo was sure, then maybe she could talk to Morgan more? About what though? That's another question formed in her head and another answer that needed to be found.

* * *

><p>Morgan sat outside his and Owain's tent, his knees brought up to his chin. His cloak was pulled up tight against him, trying to ward off the cold, night air. Anyone who passed by him would stop and ask if he was alright and he'd only answer with a small, Morgan-like smile and a simple yes. Did he look that bad? He made sure he looked decent enough. He brushed fixed his hair thoroughly, even asking help from Uncle Frederick. He had chosen his nicest clothes, although the tactician's cloak remained. He ate a few mints too, to assure fresh breath. He was sure that he shouldn't be worried. Not on this night.<p>

As the prince continued to sit out there, he looked up at the sky and sighed at the sight of the stars. They were bright as always. Lucina and the others often said that back in their time, the stars were gone and the sky was always the color of blood and miasma. He absentmindedly patted his sleeves where a notebook and pencil were concealed. He looked inside his cloak and made sure that the flowers he hid were still there and not crushed.

Morgan looked around, waiting for a certain person to appear. They were quite late that particular night as Morgan was sure that they always passed by around this time of the night. Every night without fail. As he waited, he listened to Owain's mumblings from inside their shared tent. Morgan would yell at his cousin from time to time, continuing their epic battles as rivals.

It was a few minutes more of waiting when Morgan heard footsteps approaching. He quickly whipped his head in the direction of the sound. He grinned when the person he was expecting started nearing towards him.

"Um Owain… let us part ways for now! The fated time has come!" he exclaimed to his cousin. Owain paused for a moment before chuckling. "Is that so? Well then, my ally-versary, may the gods of victory grace your epic exploits!" he called.

"Expect me to return with tales of success!"

Owain continued on with his ramblings as Morgan once again checked himself. Proper hair? Still good. Clothes? Ironed, smelling fresh with minimal wrinkles. Face? Clean and smiling. Breath? Still fresh and minty. Flowers and sweets? Hidden strategically and unharmed. Now, on to the real mission.

Morgan stepped forward, eyeing his target. He took a few more steps forward, albeit hesitantly and nervously. He fiddled with his coat, smiling the way he used to, or at least he tried to smile the way he usually smiles. With his anxiety, he could be having facial muscle spasms. "Morgan?" The tactician prince sucked in a breath as his name was called. This is it. He had practiced this yesterday. His resolve was there. He just had to say it and hopefully everything goes well.

The tactician prince looked up at the person standing in front of him, who looked back curiously and turning just as conscious as Morgan by the second.

"Inigo." Morgan said the mercenary's name as casually as he could. He was going to go through with this no matter what.

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><p><strong>A.N.<strong>

**AAAAAnd a wild Inigo appears! Does he have something to say to Severa? What could Morgan's business with him be? Why is our clueless little prince so nervous? Is he even as clueless as we think he is? Find out in the next chapter of... TADNFFFTT! **

**I'm seriously considering changing that lame name... any suggestions?**

**So that's the end of this chapter! I brought in Inigo and a bit of Owain! Inigo's a harder character to write while Owain is just fun! Both characters are simply adorable and I love them so much! Expect a few more characters making appearances. Of course, more of the 1st gen will appear too I think.**

**But I HAVE to warn you tho, this might be the last one of my remotely, decently written chapters. The next few are about to be confusing I think. Buuut I'll keep working on them to keep you guys sane. Anything for my lovely readers of course. Oh and I might be justifying my next chapters too because yeah... orz**

**Sooo... that's it and once again, thanks for putting up with me and reading this!**

** Sparks101: Thanks! I'll certainly work harder for them then**

** Death-Prince-3: ikr! Although I couldn't dish it out in this chapter, I could could add it in the next few chapters and I'm sure things are going to be bad for Severa AND Cordelia. And probably Morgan too hahaha**

** drunkdragon: good to know I'm doing well! I'm certainly aiming for longer chapters since I'm used to writing them lengthy but then I just have to chop it off at some parts so... yep**

**I suppose there's gonna be long and short ones, hopefully full of meaningful and decent writings**

** Flipnhaole: thanks!**

**And to that guest reviews, thanks! Severa's just feisty like that... although she has to work on her denial issues I think!**

**So thanks so much for the faves, follows and reviews! They're awe-inspiring! Especially the reviews so keep 'em coming! hahaha**


	6. One Bad Move Is a Tactician's Downfall

Inigo wasn't exactly sure of what had happened. Two and a half hours after Morgan had approached him, he was still confused. And baffled. And pissed off. And lonely. And most of all, seething with absolute jealousy. Inigo was sure he had never felt so many emotions since his parents' sudden deaths back in his original timeline, but now, he feeling it again as he sat there, in a restaurant with cold tea and a half eaten piece of cake, eyeing Morgan. This was supposed to be Inigo's night, not Morgan's! He sipped his tea, slamming the poor cup on the table after and took a deep breath. He tore his eyes away from Morgan and recounted the events that happened so far. Just what exactly went wrong? He was sure it started well but suddenly it jut went south like every other time he brought a wingman along.

It had started earlier that night when Inigo was on his way to his nightly philandering (or love spreading, as he preferred to refer to them). It was quite a sullen day, with Severa's earlier troubles bothering him as well. He thought a few ladies for company would soothe him so he worked up the extra effort to look more charming than normal. He was already running late on his daily schedule when Morgan stopped him. If he was being honest, he was surprised.

Morgan stood there looking nervous and baffled, very un-Morgan-like. Besides that, he looked so princely with neat hair and carefully chosen clothes (although the tactician's cloak certainly isn't coming off. Still, it somehow complimented whatever Morgan wore, strangely. Inigo made a mental note to get one of those.) When he spoke, Inigo swore he could smell mints. And were those flowers sticking out of Morgan's coat? It didn't help that a grinning Owain was sneaking a look from inside his tent, as if spying on them.

Inigo started feeling tense back then. He recognized this scene. He saw knew this scene from romantic books, from his mother's stories. He was starting to think that Morgan was going to confess his undying love to him! Then he started inwardly panicking. What if Morgan really did do that? What would Inigo do? Of course, he was going to reject the prince. Although he knew Morgan was charming in his own way, Inigo was certain he didn't swing that way. After all, he played for the lovely ladies and why would he even bother flirting and enduring the pain they brought upon him if he was more interested in men? No, definitely not. Even if this person was Morgan, that thought was unthinkable. The mercenary had already began a number of rejection speeches in his head (he's made sure to be gentle, this was the prince he's turning down after all and even though Morgan is a gentle soul, Inigo knows he can hack a Risen with fury) when Morgan suddenly and very nervously asked if he could be Inigo's wingman for the night.

To say that that surprised the mercenary was an understatement as he certainly didn't expect that from Morgan or from anyone actually. Of course he needed one as Gerome had fallen ill that day (although his coughing sounded quite forced) and Brady had threatened to bash his head in if he ever so much as dragged him again, but for Morgan to do this much just to pick up girls? Then he must be desperate. He even looked like he was ready to beg Inigo.

Thinking about it, Morgan was definitely different from Gerome. He wasn't dark and mysterious so maybe he wouldn't be all that interesting for girls. He was also different from Brady, who looked offending but was too emotional. Morgan excelled in supports too so he could definitely count on him to bring in the ladies. The prince didn't have to ask twice. Minutes later and they were on their way to pick up girls in town.

Looking at it now, Inigo decided that it had been a bad idea.

It hadn't been thirty minutes and the girls were already running up to them. Or more specifically, to Morgan. The prince, who had returned to his usual, cheerful self who flashed an innocent, boyish smile without batting an eyelash was apparently _'the cutest boy' _all the ladies had seen. They were already following him and doting on him like Inigo had never seen before! Unlike with Gerome, who made the ladies half-crazed with his brooding, Morgan made the ladies coo and fawn over him. His constant chatter added to his charm as all the things he said seemed interesting. They even laugh at the jokes and puns Morgan himself didn't even know he made! It wasn't long till Inigo was left and forgotten. Morgan would drag him back into a conversation, do his part as a wingman and even desperately mention all the good and charismatic traits Inigo had, but the ladies were persistent in shoving him away.

"Oh but you know, Inigo happens to be one of the most attractive among our ranks, I guarantee that's true." Morgan would say, which would then be countered with an "Mmm… but we prefer your charm Morgan! You're so much more adorable!"

"Inigo was so great during our last battle! He swooped in and did this cool move—"

"What did you do then, Morgan? I'm sure you looked so striking in the heat of battle"

"Inigo thought about this excellent tactic that helped us win the last battle and—"

"Morgan, isn't that cloak just like Queen Robin's? That's a tactician's cloak right? You must be a tactician too if you're wearing that. And a smart one too—"

And just like that, all of Morgan's attempts to compliment and bring out Inigo's appeals were ignored and shot down. Every time he tried, the focus of the conversation shifted to him at one point and Inigo watched in horror as they grew more and more attracted to the prince. And Morgan hadn't even mentioned that he was Chrom's son. Of course he never did as he knew very well what confusion it would make.

However, it wasn't inevitable that they recognized his royal features almost immediately. When they asked about his blue hair and the brand on his right eye, Morgan simply laughed it off and said that he was a distant family member of House Ylisse that was recruited by the Shepherds, a tactician training under Queen Robin. The statement was an honest mistake on Morgan's part as the lie only made the ladies adore him more.

Hours later at a restaurant where they decided to visit, it wasn't just the ladies that were captivated by the prince. Most of the customers were excitedly leaning forward as Morgan told tales of their battles and daily life in the Shepherds' camp while Inigo sat a few paces away from them, enjoying his tea alone in a table. They were so interested that it wouldn't surprise Inigo if a number of people followed them and signed up for the army just by hearing Morgan's stories. Inigo then decided that he had just witnessed the infamous, unadulterated, unfiltered royal charisma Morgan inherited from Chrom. And the mercenary thought that Morgan didn't have it in him. Apparently he was wrong.

Needless to say, it was another bad night for Inigo. No, to be specific, having Gerome as his wingman was bad. Having Morgan was worse.

As they made their way back to camp that night, Morgan laughed beside him, seemingly content. The prince had a goofy smile on his face, his hands inside his pockets and he walked with a confident stride. "I never knew it was that fun! You meet all kinds of people!" he chuckled. Inigo was seriously praying that this would be the last time the tactician prince accompanied him because if this was going to continue, he wouldn't make any progress at all.

"Although… this night was kind of… uneventful." Morgan sighed and slumped slighty. The mercenary was surprised at the statement. Inigo turned his head towards Morgan, who dropped his head and whose smile shifted from absolutely happy to drained and tired. The prince kicked a stray stone as he walked and said nothing more. To say that what had happened was uneventful? If Inigo was jealous, he was now seething with annoyance.

"What do you mean?"

"Well… I thought I could learn something special about talking to girls. I mean, I prepared and all! I had Uncle Frederick fix my hair and I wore my best clothes. I brought flowers and presents. Turns out I didn't need them after all. I didn't learn anything at all. My notes are a complete blank." Morgan sighed. Inigo interpreted his answer as 'I just needed to talk to catch the ladies' and his annoyance grew ten-fold. However, he pushed the thought aside as he saw the visible frustration creep in Morgan's face. Did he really want to learn that much?

"So you did all this just so you could learn how to talk to girls?" he asked. Apparently, Morgan was not even aware of that royal charm he had. The prince nodded solemnly. This was serious. The only time he looked like that was when Robin or Chrom was teaching him something new. He was determined to learn how to talk to girls.

"Why?" At Inigo's question, Morgan came to a halt. He paused for a while as if remembering something. He frowned and furrowed his eyebrows, and then a light blush crept to his cheeks. "B-Because I-I'm a prince and I have to learn how to talk to ladies! Mother said that Father was bad at it so I have to practice."

The prince sounded so uncertain and so defensive that Inigo didn't believe that that was his answer. Or only answer. He believed that Morgan had another reason for joining him that night but he decided not to ask.

* * *

><p>Severa still had no idea what to talk to Morgan about. Granted, Inigo's advice was decent enough, but there was still the question of what to talk to him about. She hadn't tried engaging in a conversation with him yet because she knows that she'll just leave herself standing and gawking at him if she tried now with an empty head. She knew Morgan was talkative enough to keep things flowing, but leaving Morgan to lead the conversation would just end up in a monologue and if Severa wanted an actual conversation with him, she had to take the reins for herself.<p>

Thinking about it has kept her up late for three nights now, and this was her fourth night.

She sat alone in a small campfire just a few paces away from her tent. On her lap laid the _"__Complete and Detailed Maneuvers and Tactics For and Against Wyvern Lords"_, open at the vertical flying section, located halfway through the book. Severa was actually reading it. Unlike most tactical books she saw Morgan and Robin read, this was far simpler despite its detailed descriptions. There were also illustrations intricately drawn to help visualize the maneuvers. On some pages, she'd see calculations and notes done by both Robin and Morgan. Severa would see some names of the Shepherds listed most commonly Cherche and Gerome, followed by their statistics and move and skill sets. The two Minervas were also registered, drawn in detail and thoroughly observed. It was enough to make Severa admire the two tacticians. Of course, she had long admired Queen Robin, tales of her bravery, kindness and intelligence known by all Ylisseans in the future, told to children as bedtime stories, but now she had started to look up to Morgan more as well, as he was on his way to climbing up to his mother, albeit slowly, as he'd often say.

After a moment of pause, she went back to reading, so engrossed in the book that she had failed to notice someone sit beside her. That someone waited and watched, trying to see if she would stop reading and acknowledge their presence. However, she just continued on and they decided to clear their throat.

Severa turned to see Inigo smiling tiredly at her. He waved and before she could send him her signature glare, he hung his head dejectedly and sighed. He sighed three more times before he just started saying the word 'sigh'. At that, Severa decided to ask what his problem is.

"What?" She asked, annoyed to have been interrupted.

"Is that a way to greet your old friend Inigo? I'm seriously hurt."

"Buzz off Inigo." Severa scowled, ready to return to the book.

"Ah now that's the greeting I was hoping for!" Inigo laughed

"But really, aren't you going to ask why I'm so lonely, so… so disappointed in life?" he asked, leaning back and looking up. Severa really didn't want to ask anymore. She was more likely to receive a response that involved getting rejected womankind again.

"You got shot down by a woman again?" she growled, turning back to the book she held. She continued reading, opting to tune out the other mercenary's whines about her indifference to a supposedly big crisis.

"Yeah- no wait, close! I was ALMOST shot down by a woman. Wait, why do you assume that I'd always get shot down? Is it so strange for me to land a date?" Inigo whined even more as Severa mainly just nodded at him. She kept her eyes focused on the book and she was sure that she was mixing up a few of his statements here and there.

"Anyway, as I said, that's not it. I can't even go anywhere near the pretty ladies this time!"

"Is it Noire?"

"No, it's my wingman."

"Oh. Well it's an easy choice. Any self-respecting woman would choose Gerome over a turd like you any day." She rolled her eyes, opting to spare him a glance. He looked hurt and seriously bothered, but Severa knew well by now that he was faking it for dramatic effect. She would never fall for it.

"No, Morgan's been my wingman for three days now and he's worse than Gerome."

"Do I look like I care? Just make sure you guys- wait, what?"

"Right. He was really nervous at first. Heck, he even brought flowers and a present. But then it turns out he's just naturally popular with the ladies. I'm honestly quite shocked and wounded! You'd think he didn't have it in him at all! But I guess I was wrong—"

At the mention of Morgan's name, she slammed the book shut and turned to face him fully, eyes narrowing into a glare and a frown forming hard. Inigo bowled over at the sudden shift of interest and he swore she looked even more furious and grumpier than any other day.

"You dragged him into your senseless trifling? Inigo you idiot!" she screamed at him, which stunned him into silence. Severa was fuming at that time and Inigo knew he just told her something he should just have kept to himself. More than anything, he was confused as to why it suddenly angered her, having mentioned Morgan when she had been indifferent when he talked about his exploits with Gerome, Brady, and possibly Owain in the near future.

"I'm sorry! I didn't think you'd be that concerned about Morgan." This statement made her stop. She wasn't concerned about Morgan at all! That was just a misconception.

No, didn't she decide to stop denying things? She had admitted to herself that she liked him so she should just keep going.

Okay, she was jealous. She was jealous of all the women who had flocked around Morgan. Here she was, racking her brain, thinking of a decent way to have a conversation with him but a bunch of tavern ladies just sauntered over and got him chattering and joking. The thought of him picking up girls and NOT getting rejected grinded at her nerves. Morgan knew better than to become a philanderer like Inigo!

"I am NOT concerned about him!" Severa found herself denying despite her earlier firmness. She found herself blushing as she screamed at Inigo. Apparently, admitting it to herself was fine, but telling others was embarrassing.

"Think about it, what would the people say if they knew that our prince was a philanderer? Scandalous! That's just pathetic! Shameful!" she threw her arms up in exasperation. "W-Well to be fair, he didn't say that he was Chrom's son. He just said that he was a distant member of House Ylisse." Inigo defended. He knew it wasn't just Morgan who was in danger here. He was just as guilty.

"Do you think that's good enough? No one would care if he was just some farmer's son. But a member of House Ylisse?" Severa had a point there. He decided not to mention the fact that Morgan also said that he was training under Robin. That would send over another big scolding.

"B-But he said he wanted to learn how to talk to girls s-so I helped him out! N-Not like he needed any help at all but-" At that, Severa stood up and left, making heavy steps towards Morgan's tent.

* * *

><p><strong>A.N. <strong>

Am I going too fast? Because I think I'm going too fast (like every other story I attempt to write, really). I feel like I really need to slow things down some more. Eh well...

Anyway, man I'm busy! Schoolwork's been piling up and I've been running out of time to write stuff, so I'm pretty much making sure to write as many chapters as I can while I've still got enough free time. Y'know, just to make sure I can still update on a regular basis despite how little computer time I can get.

Do you guys think I should add in other pairings? I originally tried to stay away from that because if I added a few more pairings, I'd have to expand their story either because I don't want to just mention them here and there. Whenever I do that, I feel like I'm not doing the pairing any justice. So, what do you guys think? Other pairings and extra chapters or we'll stick to the main lovebirds here? I shall await your opinions!

** DustedWithStars: weeell I guess we'll just have to stick with this name then. I really don't have anything in mind either thanks to my lack of naming skills. Unfortunately, that Morgan-Severa fluff time would have to wait juuuust a bit more longer. And Inigo would be forever lurking in the grasses, appearing randomly but that will not stop the fluff time, I promise!**

** Death-Prince-3: yep, I could've put in any other guy, but then Inigo seemed to be the popular choice out there so we'll go with him**

**Sparks101: thank goodness then! I was worried I might have done Inigo a tad bit off since I really don't personally know anyone who's so much of a flirt yet so cheerful, so I just went with whatever I thought he'd might say, based on his support convos**

**And for the Guest Reviews, thanks so much for dropping by! I'm certainly working on longer chapters, really, but then I have this habit of ending a chapter when I think it's getting suspenseful, hence, the shorter chapters. I'm practicing on poetic, descriptive writing to at least lengthen it, so yeah, I hope that helps. Aaaand while the fluff chapter isn't here yet, it's just around the corner somewhere. I'll go off to find it for you guys ;D**

So once again, that's the end of another chapter, thanks for stopping by, for the faves, the follows and the reviews!

Knowing that people are expecting a continuation for this certainly helps me write faster~


	7. Hell Hath No Fury Like a Woman Scorned

He wanted to learn how to talk to girls that's why he went out picking up girls? There were a number of women in the Shepherds! He could have talked to anyone from the army. He could have talked to her! Didn't he say that he enjoyed talking to her? She was jealous that he'd rather talk to another woman than her.

Her annoyance seemed awfully apparent as those who saw her march her way towards her destination backed away anxiously, creating a path for her.

Once she arrived in front of Morgan and Owain's shared tent, she stood outside, firmly planting her feet on the ground. She heaved a big sigh twice before going on with her business. "Morgan! Are you in there? I'm coming in!" she shouted, throwing the tent flap open as quickly as she called. Her eyes automatically landed on the prince, who was in the middle of a heated conversation with Owain regarding ancient swords.

She waited until the boys stopped and acknowledged her presence before sending Owain a pointed look and growling ferociously. "Owain. Outside. Now." Normally, Owain would have argued with her but this time, he decided against it, sensing a dangerous killing intent emanating from the mercenary. The swordsman trudged outside hurriedly, sending Morgan a worried look, who only smiled at it ignorantly. He didn't even seem to notice Severa's obvious fury.

Once Owain was out the tent, Severa looked down at the prince, who was looking up at her with genuine curiosity. Looking at him now, smiling innocently at her, Severa felt her jealousy dissipate. Then, she began to wonder why she marched up to him in fury for finding out that he had gone picking up girls.

Granted, yes, she was jealous, but this is unreasonable. Suddenly, she began to remember that Morgan had a choice on who to talk to and unless it was Grima's spawn he was socializing with, then she had no right to say anything about it because she was NOT his wife and they were NOT even together. Even the excuse she gave Inigo sounded ridiculous now that she was thinking straight.

"You needed something, Severa?" Morgan asked, bringing her back from her thoughts. The prince didn't even look mad when she forcefully shooed away his cousin. As usual, he looked so welcoming. She struggled on what to say to him. "I-I…" she started. Morgan patiently waited for her to finish what she was trying to say, not even looking away. This just made Severa shy away from him even more. No, that definitely won't do. She refused to look like a fool in front of him.

"What's this I hear about you going philandering with Inigo? Morgan, can't you think straight for once? Don't go running around town just offering yourself up to anyone you see! You're a prince so act like one and stop bringing shame to the Ylissean royal family! How many times do I have to say it? What would Chrom say about this huh? What would Robin say?" she went and started, angrily putting her hands on her hips as she spoke. Morgan frowned as he listened at it wasn't long till he sported a look of horror and guilt.

"I-I didn't think about it that way… I—"

"You want to talk to girls? Gods Morgan, there are girls here too! I'm here! Go talk to ME then! Or is it that you don't see me as a lady? Is that it? I'm not lady-like enough for you?" she all but screamed, leaving Morgan confused and backing away slightly. She hadn't intended to scream at him and along the way she ended up complaining about her own jealous anger.

"N-Not at all!"

"Are you mocking me? So you really don't see me as a lady? Oh. My. Gods."

"No! I meant to say um… you're as lady-like as possible Severa, I think that's obvious."

"So go on and talk to me then! You want to talk to girls? Go ahead, I'm listening."

"Um… well"

"I'm waiting…"

Morgan looked up at the mercenary in a panic. She didn't look that entirely happy (not that she always did) and he was wondering how he had not noticed her looking so upset. She suddenly started demanding a conversation, something he would normally give without being asked, but a few days earlier, he had stumbled upon a few worrying things which lead to his insecurities when it comes to talking to girls, hence, the philandering. Morgan was never the type to worry about such things but lately, he has been feeling conscious about talking to women or to a specific woman in particular.

Severa tapping her foot told Morgan that she was getting impatient. Severa was not the best at dealing with impatience. He panicked even more, fiddling with the sleeves of his coat. "Um…" he started again, frowning and scrunching up his nose to think of a good way to start. "Hi." Was all he could say.

"That's it? You pranced around town and practiced for three nights and that's all you could say to me?" Severa gave the prince a scalding look. If Inigo was to be believed, then Morgan was popular with the ladies. He must have been talking animatedly for them to be swooning over him. How come he looked so nervous when it came to her? He couldn't say anything but a simple hi.

Maybe it was because she was scaring him, but Morgan was used to this. He was never fazed by her attitude before so why was he cowering away now?

"W-Wait! Um… you look really—"

"This better be good Morgan."

"Normal today… yeah um—"

Severa raised an eyebrow. Really, was that the best he could do? "Excuse me? Do you mean to say that I don't look normal on other days? Is that it?"

"No, no! I-I was going to say—well, what I meant was, I thought you wouldn't want any flattery so I went with something um… not really flattering." The prince attempted to laugh but a choked sob came out instead

"Is that really any way to talk to a lady? Morgan, the first thing you ought to give a lady is a compliment!"

"You look really stunning today Severa! Er… as always. Like every other day."

The mercenary said nothing, and instead raised an eyebrow at him. After a moment of awkward silence and Morgan frowning and fiddling with his cloak, he looked up at Severa and gulped. She felt a little guilty putting him in this situation especially since she knew she was acting unreasonable. Morgan looked guilty as well and he seemed to be trying hard to appease her, thinking of something he could say to Severa without further angering her.

"Okay so let me try again… um… it's a nice day isn't it Severa?" he gave her a shaky smile, slightly reminiscent to his normal grins. He was trying hard to fight back his anxiety, she could see it.

"And what makes you say that? You've been holed up in here since morning. Besides, it's evening." She asked as she took a seat next to him, modestly placing the book she didn't even realize she was still holding on to, behind her. The way she asked her question, lacking her fierce bark, was enough to convince Morgan to keep going.

"If it was raining, I figured you'd be soaked?"

"Oh really? Tell me more about how the weather works, Morgan. I didn't know that."

"Were you being sarcastic or—"

"Nope. Of course I wasn't. Why would I be sarcastic? Do YOU think I'm being sarcastic?" It was either Morgan was simply playing with her or he really can't recognize sarcasm. The way he seems so confused at that moment told Severa that it was the latter. Then he stared at her in disbelief. After a few silent moments, he reached into his sleeves and pulled out a notebook and a pencil and started scribbling. Severa wondered what he was doing. After he finished scribbling, he turned the notebook towards her and she found herself looking at crudely drawn illustrations of the sun, clouds and rain.

"Okay so, when it's sunny, the sun's out and there are no heavy clouds. It's really bright and these days are perfect for doing the laundry or taking a bath outside. In a spring or river, I mean. It's a good weather for battle, but not exactly the best. Lack of clouds means you can't hide flying units and when it gets too hot, it gets harder to move and morale goes down as it's easier to get tired. Then when it's cloud-" Severa couldn't believe that he really was explaining to her how the weather works. He surely didn't believe that she didn't know anything about that? He was probably thinking that she was an idiot. Despite that, she didn't want to interrupt him; he looked serious as he continued explaining.

"—and then, if it's storming outside, well… it's raining. Hard. And the wind is crazy, it's like using Excalibur, only, there's no definite target. This type of weather is definitely bad in a battle. It's hard to see in the rain and the flying units are at a disadvantage because they get pushed back. At most, their wings get torn off. That's not a pretty sight at all." He stopped for a bit, putting a hand under his chin, as if calculating something related to tactics. It was moments like these that Severa found him most handsome.

Briefly, their eyes met, he gave her a small smile and just like that, the serious, brooding Morgan was gone. He was back to being the cheerful prince she had grown to harbor feelings for. Severa wondered why she hadn't realized how attractive his optimistic personality was before. She found herself asking if any of their female comrades had realized about his charm and liked him the same way she did. She suddenly didn't want to know the answer.

"I like sunny days best because that's when it feels like nothing is wrong, don't you think so?" his smile turned into a cheeky grin. Severa stared at him before deciding that he was finished explaining how the weather works. She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Morgan you daft idiot." She muttered. He seemed to have heard it as he stopped returning his notebook into his cloak and looked at her in confusion. To answer his unsaid question, she gave him a glare. "Yes, I was being sarcastic before! I'm not a halfwit who doesn't know how the weather works! I can't believe you seriously lectured me about that. Ugh." She grumbled, crossing her arms.

She noticed how he blushed and slowly started panicking. She knew that it wouldn't take long before he becomes another nervous mess, so before he could continue, she held up a hand and stopped him. "Still I guess that was decently entertaining. Thanks." Severa allowed a small, amused smile form on her face. Morgan stared and chuckled slightly, visibly relaxing.

"Yep. Today's a nice day after all." He exclaimed, stretching up his arms as if he had just gotten up from bed. Severa wondered what he meant by that and contemplated on asking him. She watched him curiously and when he looked back at her, he immediately picked up on the unasked question forming around in her head.

"Well earlier, it was really sunny out. Cherche did the laundry and I was able to ask her to put lavender aroma in my coat. It smells nice. Y'know it helps me sleep well. I had a nice nap earlier this afternoon. Then Father and I went to town and he bought me a rare tome as a gift while we were out. But that's not really the best part." He laughed and paused, turning to Severa as if asking her to take a guess. She gave him an unimpressed look and crossed her arms.

"Well? I'm not guessing."

"Eh—okay fine." He sighed but continued nonetheless.

"The best part of today is… I got to see you smile. At me. That's like… a really rare prize."

* * *

><p>"So, why do you want to learn how to talk to girls?" Severa finally managed to ask, albeit shakily after she had calmed down her rapidly beating heart and flaming cheeks. Calming down was easier said than done, as Severa's procedures included repeated cursing, complaining and denying and that was just the first stage. The second stage involved a long awkward silence and then it went back to a considerably milder stage of cursing, complaining and denying.<p>

As soon as Severa had decided to ask, Morgan quickly dropped his arms to his side and looked at her as if she had just asked an inappropriate question. Then, his eyes darted around, clearly afraid to look at her. She didn't know if it was because she was starting to scare him again.

"Because… I just needed practice."

"That's all? I think it's a different story when you bring flowers and presents Morgan."

Severa watched as he embarrassedly buried his face into his hands, groaning. If she ever thought of anything about this, then she'd think that he was courting someone. If she pieced it together, the normally confident Morgan was most likely anxious of talking to this particular girl so he went to Inigo for advice (clearly a big mistake). A pang of hurt just came pounding on her chest. She pushed the thought away. It was a possibility, but it was also just her jealous assumption. It's not like he had said it outright.

"I thought I'd need them but it just so happens that I didn't need it after all." He mumbled quickly. "That's really all there is to it." He said, finally setting his hands down. He was frowning, and expression Severa rarely saw. His expression seemed sincere so Severa was quick to believe him.

"Hmph. Well… J-Just don't go frolicking around town and picking up girls like a lowborn pervert again! If you need to practice, you can always talk to me. I can't believe you didn't even think of that! Geez." Morgan instantly perked up at her offer. He laughed and scratched his head. "Ah yeah thanks Severa! I'll keep that in mind." Severa fell into a daze, just staring at him as he smiled yet again. No matter how many times she saw it, she'll admit that she'll never tire of Morgan's smile.

"I guess that's for the best, since more than any girl, you're—" before he could say anymore, he realized what came out of his mouth and stopped, although Severa, who was still off dazing, only heard the last few words. "What?" she asked, frowning at him.

"S-So you really do have the _Complete __and Detailed Maneuvers and Tactics For and Against Wyvern Lords_ volume one of seven! I thought I had completely misplaced it! That's a rare text, I have yet to read it! Haha!" the prince laughed, talking faster than Severa could comprehend. His left hand shakily pointed behind Severa and his right hand covered half of his face. Severa had a feeling that it wasn't really what he had said earlier. No one would really be embarrassed while pointing out a book. "T-That said, this one's yours right?" Morgan asked, breathing slowly as if to calm himself down. He reached over to his cot, where a familiar red-covered, silver-lined book was lying open. Morgan held it up to her all blushing and smiling ridiculously and she merely stared at it in disgust. Then she slapped it from his hand, sending it flying outside the tent.

"T-That's not mine! Why in the world would you think that I'm reading something like that? Morgan you turd! Who would read those things? Even the title is sickening! _Make him fall for you in a fortnight?_ Can't the author think of a creative title? Talk about lame! Augh!" she screamed immediately standing up and backing away from him. A blush started rising steadily up to her cheeks as Morgan looked at her, stunned.

"But I haven't even… said the title yet?"

"What? Of course you did! You said it!"

"I'm pretty certain I didn't—"

"YOU. SAID. IT."

The glare Severa sent was enough to silence Morgan. He pressed his mouth into a thin, hard line, his face freezing stiff for a moment before he slowly broke out into a clueless smile. "Come to think of it, yes I did. Hahaha. It's been engraved so deep into my mind I keep mentioning it even though I'm unaware!" Morgan chuckled nervously, the sound is obviously forced and his smile was too stiff. "Please don't kill me…" he added in a whisper.

When Severa's glare softened, Morgan allowed himself to relax, taking in a few deep breaths. He was sure Severa would strike him down out of embarrassment. The tent was silent for a while and when no one refused to speak and Severa refused to look at him, Morgan decided to speak up.

"Um… but you know, it was an entertaining book. It was a good thing miss Sumia didn't take it when I showed it to her and asked if it was hers. The jokes there were hilarious. Owain said they wonderfully crafted. I mean, I can almost agree with those dating tips but—"

"You showed it to Aunt Sumia?"

"Hmm? Yes although she said it wasn't hers. She also showed it to the other Shepherds but they said it wasn't theirs."

"She also showed it to the other Shepherds?"

"Yup!"

"Everyone knows about it?"

"Well, no… Mother doesn't. And Father… and Lucina and miss Cordelia… well I still haven't asked a lot of people so… um is it yours by any chance?"

Severa, who had been avoiding Morgan's eyes, finally looked at him. The prince found himself running out of his tent moments later, completely ignoring the dating book that lay on the ground outside.

* * *

><p>"I'm really sorry Lucina! I honestly didn't think we'd end up going that far!" Inigo held his hands up above his head, his wooden sword, long discarded and thrown away. He was on his knees, cautiously looking up at the princess who had her own wooden sword dangerously pointed close to the mercenary's throat. Lucina's facial expressions held no sign of appeasement despite his multiple apologies and Inigo wondered if his luck with women could get any worse that fateful day.<p>

"No! I don't want to hear your apologies, I want to hear what you were thinking when you agreed to take Morgan with you! And for three nights! Three nights, Inigo!"

"Exactly! It's only for three nights; I took Gerome for two wee—"

"And you were planning to keep it up?"

Lucina stared down at the mercenary who was then fighting the urge to grimace. His lip was twitching, something that happened when he was either nervous or embarrassed.

Inigo, on the other hand, was already scolding himself for being so careless. First, he had set Severa off into a confusing show of rage which, of course, sent Morgan early to his grave in the process. If that hadn't been bad enough, he had the foolish idea of whining loudly without checking his surroundings.

Lucina had been passing by just in time to hear his whimpers and the princess, who was normally indifferent to Inigo's rejections and misfortunes, was certainly intrigued to hear that her younger brother was "certainly a charmer who killed ladies with a smile and could have a thousand mistresses if he wanted to".

Maybe he was already lucky enough that it wasn't Chrom or good heavens, Robin who had heard him. After all, they could easily send him to the front lines without even thinking that he was Olivia's son, just a poor mercenary who traveled back in time to once again see his beloved mother. But then again, maybe he would have preferred it if it was Morgan's parents who had caught him. After all, he could always deal with an army of Risen easily. Plus Chrom and Robin were easier to talk to. Lucina on the other hand… well, Naga above, she was Chrom and Robin's daughter. A hardened soldier that was impossible to charm and even more impossible to appease when angered. And right now, she was furious at him.

Lucina had wordlessly sat beside him, looking up at him expectantly. Before he could stand up, she had already taken him in an iron grip. That left him narrating all three nights of his and Morgan's escapade shakily. When Lucina didn't say anything after that, he was hopeful that she'd stay quiet until she asked him to train with her. Or more specifically, ordered him to train with her.

Arriving at the training grounds, they each held a wooden sword and kept their distance to ready themselves. Once both parties were sure and steady, they charged, with Lucina leading in speed. She raised her sword high above her head and Inigo prepared to parry her attack. To his surprise, she side-stepped and crouched before slamming the hilt of her wooden sword against the back of his hand, causing him to loosen his grip and drop his weapon. Before he could scramble to get it back, the princess kicked the back of his knees and sent him kneeling on the ground. The fight didn't even last for five minutes. Normally, Inigo was a fighter capable of matching Lucina. But those were on days when the princess was calm and he wasn't shaking in fear.

"Inigo, answer me!" The mercenary's attention was brought back to the current situation as he was pulled out of his reminiscing. Lucina's grip on the sword hadn't slackened in the least.

"Well he was insisting!" the princess' glare hardened even more.

"Inigo, I don't care if you cavort around town chasing after women who have no regard for you, but no matter what, and I'm warning you, no matter what, do not involve Morgan in your imprudence! My little brother has no business doing whatever affairs you're dealing with at night. Do you understand me?"

"To be fair, he was the one who—"

"Do. You. Understand?"

"Y-Yes m'am!"

Lucina said nothing more. She lowered her weapon and stepped away from Inigo before turning and walking away, picking up the mercenary's discarded wooden sword as she passed by. A few paces away from the training grounds, Lucina quickened her pace and arrived in front of the weaponry tent. She went inside and replaced the wooden swords inside the crate where the others of its kind was stored.

Instead of exiting the tent, she sat down on a nearby unopened box of tomes and massaged her temples as she dived into deep thought and contemplation.

Unbelievable. To think Morgan of all people would voluntarily as to join Inigo. Morgan! From what Lucina could recall, the only women her little brother seemed to notice before the philandering incident were her and their mother, Robin. Then again, when they found him, it was only Robin in his mind, but it didn't take long for him to warm up to Lucina. The moment they were reintroduced, Lucina had hugged him tightly and he returned it with a, warm and welcoming embrace.

Still, Lucina found herself wondering what her brother could be thinking doing something like that. Their parents still might not know, and the princess contemplated on telling them. Lucina shook her head. She didn't want to just tell on Morgan. They weren't kids anymore. Both Chrom and Robin trusted Morgan and she knew that her little brother was smart enough not to act spontaneously. There must be a reason more acceptable than "simply wanting to talk to girls". After all, this was Morgan. Everything he did had a sensible reason behind it and she was determined to find out what that reason was herself.

With her resolve firm and unyielding, she took a deep breath, stood up and exited the tent. She was going to find Morgan and talk to him. Now. The question is, where should she start? It was getting quite late into the night so she was sure he'd try to sneak out with Inigo again. Unless the mercenary had already warned him. Would he be with Mother then? No, their parents had retired early that night and Morgan knew better than to interrupt their rest. So, where would he be?

As if the gods had heard her questions, Morgan came crashing to her not a minute later, in a panicked state. By habit, she wrapped him in a protective embrace, but he quickly pushed himself away from her, eyeing her carefully as if taking in who she was, or if she was a friend or foe.

"Morgan?" she called.

"L-Lucina! Luci!" he broke out into a relieved smile upon recognizing his sister before taking her hand and forcefully dragging her away hurriedly.

* * *

><p><strong>A.N.<strong>

**Let me tell you this, this isn't the last you'll see of Lucina. This is just the beginning of the very many adventures of Princess Lucina in Morgan's love life land!**

**So this was supposed to be a considerably shorter chapter and this was supposed to have been up a week ago. Then I reread the reviews and I thought, 'wow they make too much sense' so I just happened to have placed little bits of other things here. And I know you guys have been waiting for any sign of fluff and that's the best I can do for now? FOR NOW (so don't write me off just yet! My love life is non-existent and I don't read that much romance novels so coming up with dem good romantic scenes is like crying blood for me hahaha). Oh and I updated the summary a little**

**Sparks101: **You'd think he'd at least have luck with wingmen. In my opinion, every other future gen kid would be more popular than him. Even Brady with all his crying gets more ladies!

**PrincessArien: **Thanks! I feel like if I involve any more characters (which I already did), it'd grow into another pairing sooner or later. Eh I'll just go with whatever flow there is...

**FireEmblemMaster101: **Maaaaybe they're already pining over him secretly and just doesn't want to take action? hahaha idk although if I had a war to fight I'd probably won't have time to think of anything romantic. College is like a proof of that. And no, you actually make sense. Your review was pretty much the reason why I had to rewrite and add stuff. Plus that gave me an idea for the next chapter so thanks a bunch!

**DustedWithStars:** Oh. ooooh... Don't worry, that's to be expected! It'll show up in the near chapters, I promise!

**Honestly, I have no idea what I wrote in this chapter or if I even made sense so if you are actually reading this A.N. (without skipping to this part anyway) thanks for putting up with me yet again!**

**Thanks for reading, for the faves, follows and reviews! They really help and are greatly appreciated!**


	8. No Really, You Can Always Count On Inigo

"Morgan? Morgan where are you taking me?" Lucina asked her little brother, who seemed to be in the process of running away from something or someone. Despite inquiring and protesting against him, she made no move to stop her brother from walking and continued to let herself be dragged off.

"Somewhere… anywhere but here Luci. Far from here!" There was a trace of panic in Morgan's voice as he spoke which alarmed the princess. Her normally laid-back brother rarely panicked even in the heat of battle so something like this naturally worried her.

"Morgan? Morgan stop! Stop and listen to me." The princess finally pulled her hand away after Morgan refused to elaborate further. When Lucina jerked away from him, Morgan turned back to his sister with wide, worried eyes, looking around before heaving a large sigh. He stepped away slightly and looked at Lucina, to regain his composure. He swept a hand through his hair and straightened his cloak shakily.

"R-Right… Sorry Luci. I got too nervous there." He smiled uneasily, bashfully rubbing the back of his neck as he lowered his eyes on the ground. "You did. Will you tell me why?" Lucina asked, gently ushering her little brother to the nearest campfire, which she criticized immediately for being left alone, burning. Morgan sat down anxiously, pulling on his cloak while sneaking glances behind every now and then. Between Severa and now, Lucina who had appeared at the worst time (although he was initially thankful, he had come to remember that his sister is one of the most perceptive people he's known and she would most likely ask about his current nervous state. Goddess knows he just can't lie to the two most beloved women in his life who happen to be his mother and sister), he can't decide who he should be more nervous of.

"Morgan?" Lucina called again, this time, taking her brother's hand and squeezing it tightly. The matter of his philandering had to wait for a while longer.

"Um… I made Severa angry again. I seem to do that a lot do I?" he laughed, although what came out of his mouth sounded almost tired and exasperated. Lucina watched him then as leaned back planting his hands behind him and stretched his legs forward.

"Does this have something to do with the hearsay I heard about you?" the princess asked, watching him stiffen at her question. She saw him sit straighter and pull his feet back, leaning slightly away from her and looking at nothing but the fire sitting in front of them. Such silence did not go well with Morgan. It certainly unnerved the princess. To her, Morgan was one of the biggest sources of hope back in her time when everything seemed bleak. He smiled when she couldn't and he talked when she said nothing. He was a comfort she prized and cherished dreadfully, and looking at him like that now, it worried her too much.

"I don't know how Falchion may be related to her but I swear I haven't been slicing fruits."

"It's not about Falchion. Although that is good to know that you aren't using it for such things again."

"I haven't touched your tiara again either!"

Lucina gave her brother a questioning look to which he responded with an embarrassed grin and waved his hands to dismiss the topic. "No it's not about—why would you—no. No, it's not about my tiara."

"I heard you were with Inigo." The princess finally muttered, loud enough for Morgan to hear

"We've been talking." Morgan muttered back, his hands stilling and falling back to his sides

"At night. Late at night." Lucina added flatly.

"Luci, I swear it isn't like that! We're just friends and I'm pretty sure he likes girls!" The princess was surprised when a red-faced Morgan came rushing to her, a desperate look evident in his eyes, as if he wanted to convince her of something. She only stared at him, wondering what he meant by his statement.

"Isn't that the reason why he always goes chasing girls? However, more importantly, the rumors that I have heard about you… I heard you were his wingman for three nights. I have heard his side of the story. Would you care to explain yours, little brother?"

Morgan slumped down beside his sister and smiled, the blush on his face slowly fading. He took a stick and poked the fire as he talked. "I don't know how to talk to girls."

"Nonsense. I see you are doing just fine."

"But that's different! I do that all the time. I meant a different kind of talking to girls. The sort where you—" upon noticing his sister's confused expression, he stopped and thought of how to tell her. Like their father, Lucina was quite oblivious to some things in her own way and explaining it to her by complaining and babbling continuously would only confuse her more so it was always more advised to keep straight to the point.

Morgan wondered if this was the best way to wiggle out of trouble despite knowing that whatever he would say would never justify his mistakes. However, what concerned him the most was the matter of telling Lucina his current troubles. Normally, he'd always come running to her but this time, he was quite hesitant to do so. Looking back at his sister who had concern written all over her face, he decided that yes, maybe it was worth telling her. She is his sister after all.

Morgan released an anxious breath as he threw the stick away. He nibbled on his lip, spending quite a while contemplating on what to tell her. Lucina placed a comforting hand on his shoulder and he wondered if it meant that he should take his time, or he didn't have to tell her if he didn't want to. Whatever it was, he shook his head and smiled.

"Luci I—there's someone I like. And I don't know how to talk to her." He said simply and watched as moments later, realization came to his sister's face.

* * *

><p>Unbelievable. Her beloved little brother has a girl he likes that's not her or Robin? Lucina never thought that such a day would come so soon. And at the time of war no less! Of course, she knew there was nothing wrong with that. After all, her parents' relationship developed at the time of the Plegian war, Chrom proposing to Robin right after their victory. Many of her friends' parents had been in the same situation as well, having met at the time of war and married then or after. Still, Lucina never knew her brother even thought of such things. For all she knew, he had no other woman in his life but her and Robin. Tactics and trying to remember his forgotten memories took up most of his thoughts as well, so when Morgan had told her of him liking someone, she was certainly stunned.<p>

_"Luci I—there's someone I like. And I don't know how to talk to her."_ Her brother's words were etched deep into her mind even after Morgan had long excused himself to fetch his things from his tent.

Fortunately though, to spare her from any more surprises, the revelation of who Morgan liked was expected. Lucina herself had commented that the lady he liked was a fine woman yet a formidable fighter, mature for her age (but then again, among them future children, who wasn't? Cynthia and Owain only seemed to contradict her thoughts but she knew that even the both of them had been robbed of their childhood early and remembered nothing of true childish antics) and most definitely gentle. Morgan merely smiled and hummed in agreement.

This was then followed by Morgan stating all his worries, ranging from how beautiful that certain girl was and how he wasn't confident on being with her to not being able to talk to her. Lucina, on her part, had done a well job of being an older sister, diligently reassuring him that he would do well and that she'd support him. Her little brother was quick to bounce back up as it wasn't long till he was smiling confidently again.

"_You're a fine man Morgan. I'm sure she will feel the same if you court her properly. After all, who wouldn't want a man such as yourself? You're hard working, you're intelligent, you're funny, you're confident and you're handsome. Just like Father."_

Lucina loved her brother dearly and she has to make sure she does her utmost best to support him. Even in his love problems. The only problem is, even she doesn't know much and seeing how Morgan looked at her with hopes that she'll be just behind him every step of the way was enough to make her regret even offering her help. She'll only disappoint him. Loathe as she is to admit it, the only thing ever running in her mind is the war and changing the future. None of them will ever help him.

Lucina groaned and stood up from where she sat and trudged away from camp, heading inside the forest. Both of her parents had always prohibited anyone from entering the woods at night unless on patrol, but a few had made it their habits to sneak outside on certain nights anyway. Lucina would never admit that she was among those who disobeyed her own parents' orders. But then again, there were nights when she really needed a breather and just staying in camp did nothing to calm her.

Walking deeper in, Lucina kept her hands on the trunks of trees, having left out a candle or lamp to illuminate the way. The light of the moon was scarce, seeing as she was traversing through a relatively thick forest who didn't welcome much light. Still, after camping for a short time around the area, Lucina could say that she had already memorized the way.

As she continued, it wasn't long till the princess had reached a clearing she'd best describe as _magical_. It was one of those clichéd areas described in children's story books read to her by her mother in a past long gone. The clearing was wide and empty, save for the grass growing on it and the few trees and flower bushes surrounding the place, growing nearby. A large, broken log lay invitingly in the middle and the lack of trees gave way to moonlight, lighting up the clearing. Once or twice, fireflies drift past, adding a romantic feature that never failed to calm the princess.

That night, as she came close to the glade, Lucina realized that someone had made it there first before her. Hiding behind the thicker trees, she stood still and peeked, hoping that it was someone she knew and not, gods forbid, Risen. From the distance, she could make out a figure moving swiftly, throwing their arms in the air in the most graceful manner Lucina has ever seen. This person, who was twirling and swaying in fluid, gorgeous motions, was dancing, their figure a beautiful addition to the magical scenery before her. Taking just a step forward, Lucina was able to make out who the person was. It was Inigo. She was not surprised.

Lucina knew that he had the talent and passion for dancing. It was something he had gotten from his mother after all. However, she had never seen him dance. No one has, unless they sneak out and watch him behind the shadows. Everyone who did that often talked about how beautiful his maneuvers are but this was the first time Lucina had ever really seen the mercenary.

The princess easily fell into a stunned daze as she watched him continue. Inigo did twirls and flips with ease, an effect of continued practice. He swayed and jumped and turned gracefully, just as how Lucina had seen Olivia. His face was a mixture of peace and concentration. Lucina knew Inigo was attractive, but this was really the first time she had acknowledged it.

It wasn't long till he stopped, the dance was over, he was just standing there, head bowed, and face grim and frustrated. After a while of apparent dissatisfaction, Inigo glanced up and looked around, before exhaling.

"Mother, I know you're there. Stop hiding and come out." He called out. Lucina looked around to see if Olivia was anywhere close, however, no dancer appeared. "Mother seriously, please come out." The male dancer called again, and just like earlier, no response or action was made. Lucina saw how Inigo's eyes narrowed, he started backing away, walking closer to the log in the center where his sword lay in rest.

Lucina then took it as a sign to come out of the shadows, figuring how it must be her he was talking to. "Inigo, it's me," she said. The mercenary looked at the princess with observant eyes before setting down his sword.

"Oh. Lucina. It's only you. You almost gave me a fright there. Why were you hiding in the—wait, d-did you see me? Dancing? You did, didn't you?" she watched as Inigo's cheeks started turning redder with every second that passed. Lucina found it mildly entertaining.

"If it pleases you to know, you are a wonderful dancer." She offered a compliment.

"W-Well, I'm flattered but still! It's embarrassing! Just dig me a hole and bury me alive now."

Inigo immediately sat on the log and slumped, Lucina walking towards him silently. She sat beside him and stared as the man slowly wiped his face, as if trying to wipe off the blush on his cheeks. When Lucina hadn't said anything for a while, Inigo turned to her curiously.

"If this is still about Morgan, I'm sorry. I apologized already but… I'm sorry for bringing Morgan. That was a bad move anyway. Do you know how many ladies I've lost to him? Hundreds! And your little brother—" Inigo immediately closed his mouth after receiving a glare from Lucina.

"Okay, okay. Not mentioning that. Okay, I get it. Still, I'm not sorry for chatting up the ladies."

"You never are."

"You got me there. Every lady in the world deserves to be loved by me. That includes you too princess."

Inigo sent the princess a sly smirk while wiggling his eyebrows. When all he received was a faint glare, he started to worry even more. "Now Lucina, I know you have a permanent war face on you, but that is just grim. Should I sign you up for Inigo's special smiling classes?"

"What?"

"I said, should I sign you—Is there a problem?" Inigo groaned.

Lucina tore her eyes off him and sighed. She played with her hands, sending him brief glances from time to time. "Lucina, I know I'm charming, but simply staring at me won't get you any—"

"Morgan… Morgan likes a girl." Lucina said immediately, looking at the mercenary for any reaction. To her surprise, Inigo merely shrugged and sighed. "I'm sure that was obvious." He said.

"It's not obvious." Lucina grunted and turned away, propping her chin on her palms, a frown pasted on her face. It was obvious that Inigo did not agree with her, but after their earlier strife, the mercenary thought it best not to say anything against her. After all, he was still a bit cautious of her. "Ah well, he is at that age when boys turn to men and experience the wonders of… love. What of it?"

"It's nothing urgent but…" for a moment, Lucina gave Inigo what he thought was a hopeful look. She opened her mouth to say something but hesitated and closed it again to think. "Hmm?" Inigo hummed, expecting the princess to continue.

"I honestly cannot believe that I'm talking about this with you."

"Lucina, why do you have such little faith in good 'ol Inigo?"

The princess didn't respond for a while and instead, sported on a pained, slightly hesitant look. "I think he's looking to me for help." She admitted, to which he raised a brow at. Lucina didn't strike him as the type to be such an unsupportive sister. He always thought she spoiled her brother in the best ways but now, it seemed strange to hear her say something like that.

"You don't… want to?" he asked uncertainly.

"It's not like I don't want to but…"

Watching Lucina trail off like that and avoid his eyes, realization came hitting Inigo fast and hard. "Oh… oh I get it. You want to, but you can't. It's because you have no experience don't you?"

Lucina frowned and crossed her arms, turning to him to eye him in displeasure. "How could I think of such things at a time like this? Right now, altering the future is our top priority. I cannot afford to look at men and think of romantic thoughts now."

"Lucina, we're in the past. The difference between the past and our time is that our parents are alive and they know better because of you. They're strong soldiers Lucina. We grew up hearing their stories! They were great heroes, so put more faith in them! Live a little. All fight and no play makes Lucina a dull um… Lucina. I mean, really. When was the last time you spent time with Chrom that doesn't involve sparring or training? With Robin that doesn't involve war councils? With me, that doesn't involve you, scolding me? It's not that hard to accept an invitation for tea!"

"And you're now you're fretting over Morgan because you can't help him."

"I don't see where this is heading Inigo."

"I'm saying that you're too stiff to understand your brother."

"I understand him just fine."

"Oh? So how does it feel to like someone enough to do something stupid like chat up other people just to practice talking to the object of your affections?"

"You know about Morgan's motives?"

"It was kind of obvious. Morgan wouldn't do that without good reason."

Inigo's eyes never left the princess' face, watching her as she thought of her answer. When she stayed silent for nearly a whole minute, the mercenary smiled and sighed, shrugging. "I thought as much. But don't you worry Lucina! For the sake of your brother, I shall help you help him!" Lucina raised her head and looked at him with a tinge of hope that Inigo didn't fail to see. He mustered the most charming smile he could produce and cleared his throat. "Go out with me." He finally declared.

"Why?"

"Why? It's for your brother!" Inigo whined, but that didn't seem to convince the princess as she kept her eyes on him wordlessly, scrutinizing him strictly. He kept eye contact, but he could not keep it long enough to compete with her.

"Tell me your real motives Inigo."

"I'm telling you, it's for Morgan!"

"…okay so maybe it's for you too. I'm kind of hoping you would loosen up a bit more? Learn to smile?"

"What would you gain by doing this?"

"The honor of being your lover—partner!"

"Then I refuse your offer."

"What? Come on Lucina! Think of Morgan! Think of all the fun we'll have!"

"I am thinking of him, I am also thinking of the shame it will bring me, to have you call yourself as my… partner. Besides, I have confidence that Morgan will do fine on his own." Lucina huffed, preparing to stand up and leave. It was getting late and she wanted to rest. Morgan would probably be waiting for her in her tent by now.

"Ouch. That just pierced me harder than any weapon. But fine! So you don't have to go out with me! Just have tea with me! Maybe some chit-chat and a bit of cake then I'll help you. In no time, you'll be giving him great advice!"

"Do I really have to do all of that just for your help?"

"It's crucial, I'm telling you!"

"I fail to see how it is."

"You will see soon enough. You will, I promise."

Lucina's eyes drifted to the sky, watching the night stars twinkle above her. In her future, there were none. She wondered when was the last time she had looked up to appreciate them.

She turned back to see Inigo still watching her wordlessly, waiting for her answer. Unlike all most of the time when he was asking a girl out, he looked especially hopeful now, as if he was really determined not to get rejected. Lucina sighed, picked up Falchion that rested beside her and stood up, starting on her way back to camp, but not before turning back to Inigo slightly. "Fine. But this is only for Morgan. For him!"

"And maybe for you and me both as well, but yes, whatever you say, Lucina." Inigo laughed as he picked up his own sword and followed after the princess.

"Oh and Inigo?"

"Hmm?"

"I apologize if I seemed a bit too harsh earlier. It was uncalled for."

"Don't worry about it. Expected reaction."

Maybe this night wasn't as bad as Inigo thought. He was smiling happily as he walked back to camp, his spirits high and happy.

* * *

><p><strong>A.N.<strong>

First of all, I'd like to apologize for a late update. I'm trying to make it a habit of updating every 1 or 1/2 weeks but I've been really busy with school stuff lately. I haven't gotten enough sleep this month so far and I just don't have time to write continuously. This week will be busier, with exams piling up, but I've written enough for the next chapter so I'm hoping to upload it quickly next week maybe.

Okay, so that's it for the apologies, now... this chapter! No Morgan/Severa interaction just yet. This was supposed to be a small part of the next chapter but kind of grew too long so I separated them and planned to post this up as an extra chapter. But then I realized that even though this is just a side scene, it's still kind of relevant to the main plot so I wouldn't call it an extra. Anyway, have some Inigo/Lucina interaction here! After not being able to write or play FE:A for so long, I kind of lost track on how to portray both Inigo and Lucina so I hope this wasn't so bad.

**FireEmblemMaster101:** I get that. I mean, really you'd think the Shepherds would concentrate on the war but they go pairing up in the midst of it just because they get to fight a few battles here and there. I find that aspect of the game honestly entertaining haha

**Mew29240:** Yes! We will get to that in the next few chapters. I am curious if the others could out-do Inigo and how. I've been thinking about Owain too. I was kind of hoping he could have been Inigo's wingman in the game supports but well... he didn't. Eh guess I can't complain.

**Sparks101: **Ah the struggle haha... I shall do my best to provide top quality fluff and big sister Lucina then!

**drunkdragon:** yup that's pretty much what happens when the story isn't about him. It only makes it harder seeing as how the only time he ever justifies his philandering in the game is in his supports with his father (I think) and a bit with Olivia. Still, now that you mentioned it, I rarely do see him getting to explain himself. Most of the time he's just the third-party-philanderer-guy who's only there for plot reasons and suddenly disappears after the happy ending. It started bothering me too. Well, worry not! I shall try not to make the same mistake too much!

And thanks! Severa's considerably easier to write because um... I'm used to people with her character? And maybe because I kind of act like her sometimes? Idk orz

**Riku Uzumaki: **Aaaand... she already did.

Ah thanks for waiting for this long for this chapter

Thanks for once again reading, for all the fave and follows! Reviews are very much loved!

Till next time!


	9. Next Time, He Says

After she had chased Morgan out of his own tent, Severa had not seen him at all and it had been four days since then. To say that she was worried and guilty for acting that way towards him did her feelings no justice. More than anything, she wanted to apologize for an uncalled display of uncivilized jealousy and foolhardiness, but doing such a thing was hard enough, as she was not the one to take embarrassment lightly. It didn't help that the one she wanted to apologize to was missing.

Since that day, she had been looking for him. She had asked Owain a number of times, but even the swordsman had confessed to not seeing his tent-mate since the said incident. Morgan had not returned to their shared tent and most of the tactician prince's things were missing, most likely moved away. Owain himself was confused and worried about his cousin, but when he had asked Lucina one night later, she had simply told him not to worry as Morgan was simply indisposed at the moment and was staying with her. That was the last that Owain had heard of him. Severa had asked the princess about him as well, but Lucina had given her the same answer. When she asked to see him, she saw how Lucina hesitated with her answer, looking at her contemplatively before giving her an apologetic look and refusing.

"What? Lucina, I want to talk to him! Or are you holding your own brother captive somewhere or something?" Severa exclaimed, stepping up to the princess in annoyance, her hands firmly planted on her hips. Her eyes were narrowed into a furious glare as she looked up at Lucina, who didn't so much as back away.

"No. You are mistaken. I refused you because I believe that he does not wish to see you or anyone else as of now." Lucina replied quickly, the words easily slipping out of her mouth. Severa was taken back at her response. Her glare wavered and she dropped her hands to her side. She was clearly fazed by the princess' explanation, but she refused to let it show instead, she crossed her arms and summoned another glare. Ignoring the painful tightening of her chest, Severa scoffed. "Oh? And how are you so certain that your beliefs about him are actually true? Did you ask him?"

Lucina didn't even flinch at Severa's questions. Like the hardened soldier she was, the princess remained steady, never losing eye contact. "No I did not ask, but I am certain that I know my younger brother enough to know that what I say is true. I will, however, tell him that you wish to see him. I'm sure Morgan will come to you when he's prepared to." And just like that, Lucina turned and walked away, leaving no room for arguments. That was the last time Severa had asked about the prince and she held on to Lucina's firm reassurance that Morgan will approach her.

Despite that, Lucina's words kept replaying in her mind. He does not want to see her or anyone else? The insecure part of her was certain that it was just her he was avoiding, and if he was, Severa wouldn't be too surprised. She had seen that kind of scenario multiple times already. She'd snap at someone that tried to be friendly with her and then they'd run away, never or rarely making contact with her again. Severa had told herself countless times now that she was used to it and that Morgan avoiding her couldn't be helped and was only to be expected. However, despite telling herself that, the pain of being avoided by the one she likes refused to leave and she'd think about it all the time, silently asking herself if things would have been different had she been nicer. It probably would.

* * *

><p>It was almost a week and a half after her jealous outburst when she next saw him, early in the morning, on the day when they were supposed to continue their march. Morgan was busy again, as helpful as he was. He carried his mother's books for her and even helped Cordelia and Frederick sort out and pack the armory. Twice, he went to the nearby town with Stahl and Sumia to replenish the vulneraries and healing staves for the healers. He even helped Cherche distribute the newly brought in laundry (and Severa could tell that he was begging the Wyvern lord to add a pinch of lavender aroma to his clothes again, he had mentioned he loved them). By the time Chrom had called to start marching, Morgan had already ran around camp more than any Shepherd (with the exception of Frederick) and still had energy to kill off a horde of Risen and wrestle with Minerva.<p>

When the army had started their march, Morgan was in his usual place with his family, while Severa was with hers, marching a few paces away. She watched him, standing in between Lucina and Robin, talking as animatedly as ever. Something in her wished that he'd look back at her and smile, maybe fall back and talk to her, but after hours of marching and still no signs of him noticing her, she had given up on it and instead, looked down on the ground as she walked, listening to her parents chatter away about laid back topics she didn't find an interest in.

By afternoon, they had arrived in a clearing and set up their tents there. Setting up camp was considerably faster, as everyone was so eager to finish quickly and rest their tired feet. Dinner was already in the preparation, and that served as extra motivation for doubled pace. Immediately after everything was set up properly, Chrom, Robin and other notable officers had retreated to a council meeting and stayed there until early evening. The others did small tasks like training, rechecking their supplies and fixing weapons. Severa, on the other hand, went about with the long list of chores appointed to her by her father, something she didn't like doing, but had to be done nonetheless for the sake of her shopping expeditions and the beautiful black-red dress she had seen in the closest town.

On top of the chore list was drawing water. In the last location where they set up camp, there was a nearby village well they were free to use, so drawing water was never a problem. However, this time, according to the scouts, the only source of water was a river quite far from camp and nobody found the task enjoyable to say the least. Still, Severa had volunteered to do it herself, partly to show her father that she could work hard if she wanted to and partly because she found herself the only one idle again.

On her first trip to the river, she found herself struggling to hold on to two big buckets at once. She contemplated on taking one at a time, but traveling from camp to the river took up too much time and she had to fill up three large jars that didn't even last for half a day. Walking through the forest when it's nearly dark wasn't something she was keen to do either so she went with the faster choice of heaving two at once.

The way to the river was through a small forest, whose path was jagged with rocks and stones, varying in sizes. Walking to the water source was easy when the buckets were empty, but walking back to camp with them full of water was a nightmare. "Tch. Why can't- ugh Chrom pick a spot… closer to the river!" she grunted as she stumbled yet again as she walked back. By now, she was close to throwing the buckets and storming off back to camp, but that would only throw off her initial purpose. Half of the water had already been spilled when someone had decided to join her.

"Let me take that from you." A voice suddenly called out to her from behind and on instinct, she threw the pails away, pulled out her sword and held it up, the blade glistening from the light of the moon. "Make one move and I'll—" Severa stopped flailing her sword as she found herself looking at Morgan, his pants soaked in water. The prince had his hands held up and his eyes were aimed at the buckets lying on his feet, empty and discarded. He had an uneasy smile as he approached her.

"I'm… quite sure I didn't mean it that way." The prince murmured, lowering his hands and picking up the pails by his feet.

"Ugh! Morgan you dolt! Can you not do that? Look at what you made me do! Now I have to go back to that blasted river again." Sever groaned, putting her sword away and stomping in irritation, ignoring the fluttering and nervous feeling in her chest at the thought that Morgan was finally talking to her again. Morgan only chuckled in response and offered his arm to the mercenary who huffed and simply turned away, ignoring him.

"I did say I'd help you." He grinned, running up to her as he pulled on his coat tighter. Severa could feel the cold air sweeping past them as he did and she almost looked at his coat jealously.

"Hmph. You'd better!" she growled and snatched one of the buckets from his hands before leading him to the river. The way back was quiet with Morgan humming while they walked. It didn't feel awkward for Severa despite the lack of communication because Morgan didn't seem to act all too wary around her.

Drawing water was uneventful as well as none of them made a move to talk to each other. Morgan kept his eyes on his bucket the whole time and waited for Severa to finish as he was quicker to fill his. On their way back, however, Severa was itching to talk to him so she just cleared her throat and started.

"So?" she asked, glancing his way every now and then, watching for his reactions.

"Umm… so?" Morgan repeated Severa's question with uncertainty as he walked with ease, cloak pulled tight around him and bucket in hand. He was thankful for his mother's cloak for keeping the cold away as it was getting dark quite fast and the cold air swept through him like fierce wind magic. It certainly did not help that his pants were wet and Morgan found himself wishing that they'd dry off soon before they get back to camp.

"I didn't see you for days and your sister said you didn't want to see me. Were you that scared of me after I chased you out of your tent?" Severa questioned, transferring her bucket from her left hand to the right. Morgan didn't answer her right away, but the silence that met her didn't stay for long either. It was something Severa was grateful for because she was sure that if he took too long in answering her, she should start fearing for his answer.

"Well… no. Not really."

"Then where were you? Out picking up girls again?"

"Gods no! After you and Luci chewed me out, I don't think I'm willing to do that again."

"Lucina?"

"Erm… yep. But she didn't really scold me that much. Just a bit. Then she told me until the next time we march, I'll be sleeping in her tent. I even had a curfew! But we mostly spent some sibling time with each other. Although all we really did was train. That part was unbearable." He groaned. The sound was new to Severa's ears as she had never heard him whine before.

"So she grounded you, is that why you went missing?"

"If you look at it like that then… yes. Also… maybe it's because I just wanted to think about a few things so I told her I didn't want to see anyone anytime soon."

That was another thing new to Severa's ears. The usually cheerful and sociable Morgan really did wanted to be alone and isolated? She was suddenly curious of what drove this prince to that point.

"Think about things like what?" she asked and she watched as he just shrugged it off.

"Stuff…"

"Will it hurt you to be more specific Morgan?" she complained, but Morgan just shrugged again and said nothing else, his eyes never leaving the pathway. From the corner of her eyes, Severa could tell that he grew tense, his fists clenched tightly before unclenching it again. "Fine. Whatever. It's not like I really care about what goes on in your head anyway. It's probably just something weird only a nerd like you could think up." The moment those words left her mouth Severa hurriedly looked over at Morgan, worried that it might add to the hesitation the prince already had towards her. Relief came flooding after she saw a small smile broke out on his face and a casual, happy chuckle escaped his mouth.

"Guess it is… It's not something you'll find interesting anyway. Let's forget it." He hummed as they continued their walk back in silence. It was, however, no longer tense, as Severa could feel Morgan's initial hesitation leave him. She noticed how he eased back into the relaxed prince everyone came to know him as.

A few minutes later, Morgan had called the mercenary again, dispelling the silence around them. "Hey Severa?" he called, to which the mercenary only responded with a hum.

"You still remember that offer you made me? The one where I could practice talking to you?"

"Hmm? What are you tal—oh. That. Yeah, what of it?" she asked, surprised that he'd still remember.

"Can I still take you up on that? I mean… that is if you still want to though."

"Fine. But only because you look so desperate to have someone to talk to that isn't Robin or Lucina. And I'm only giving you exactly one hour a day. You're already annoying enough as it is; don't think I'm going to waste more than an hour with you." She snapped, which was met with Morgan's eager smile.

"That's enough for me! And since you said 'an hour a day', is it safe to assume that I can talk to you every day?" he added. The way he seemed so excited to talk to her sent her a flustered feeling that she felt so strongly in the pit of her stomach. It was a big contradiction to her earlier beliefs of him wanting nothing more to do with her. The more she thought about it, the more she started speeding up and he prince had to walk faster than normal to keep up with her.

"You're getting too cocky you know? But fine. I suppose you can entertain me an hour every day. At least that'll keep me from getting bored so make it interesting, you hear? Now wipe that stupid smile off Morgan! The least you can do is look guilty for bothering me like this!" Severa complained, trying not to sound too flustered as she talked. Despite telling him off, the prince's smile just grew even more as he held up his free hand over his mouth to cover his grin. He said nothing and they kept walking however, from the corner of her eyes, Severa could see Morgan's struggle of trying not to smile. His eyebrows would scrunch up, he'd try to frown or pull a nonchalant, uncaring look but in the end, his mega-watt smile won over and he was grinning happily again.

'_Why is he so happy?'_ The question repeated itself inside her head again and again until she started growing skeptical about it.

"Sorry I can't." Morgan finally spoke up before Severa could even comment about it.

"Y-You're not even trying! You're just insulting me now aren't you?"

"No! No I wasn't! I was just glad that you said yes. I mean, I didn't think you would even remember that but when you did and you said yes I—well, I was happy!" he exhaled, having said all that in one breath. Having him declare such things did not help Severa's flustered mood.

"Gods. You really are so desperate for a girl to talk to." She grumbled.

"It's a lot more than that though." He mumbled in response.

"Now what?" Severa asked, anxious to hear his response. It could be anything, but she couldn't think of anything negative that he would say. She slowed down her pace, finally noticing how Morgan had to run slightly to keep up with her. The prince looked up at her bashfully before returning his gaze to the path, inhaling and exhaling twice, as if summoning the courage to speak. The temporary silence around them was deafening to the mercenary's ears, it was so distracting and hypnotizing that she nearly missed whatever he said when he opened his mouth. The only thing that brought her back from her nervous daze was Morgan's ever charming smile.

"Like I said—or almost said before, more than any other girl, you're… you're the one I want to talk to the most." He said in a quiet voice, almost like in a whisper. He hung his head low, not out of shame but out of embarrassment. Severa could see, despite his attempts at hiding it, that his cheeks were quite red. She was sure that hers were of the same shade too. "…with the exception of Mother and Lucina of course!" he added quickly with a sound laugh, but it quickly died down as Severa had chosen to ignore the unnecessary added statement. She was too busy focusing on what he had said.

More than any other girl? His voice kept ringing in her head then, enough to stop her from walking. Morgan stopped immediately after she did, looking at her in a questioning manner, although he was not entirely meeting her eyes. _'More than any other girl?' _ she repeated. There were so many better ladies out there. He must have met a pretty woman when he was out with Inigo. Someone who was more interesting than her. He was of the same wavelength with Cynthia. He and Nah talked about a few smart and interesting topics. He enjoyed his time with Noire, telling her all about bugs despite her reluctance to learn. Even Kjelle was not entirely out of the question. She knew Morgan looked forward to their training sessions and he enjoyed hearing her opinions despite him leaving limping after. Morgan had a lot of choices for possible talking partners. All of them better than her who was condescending, sarcastic and couldn't even be honest about small things. So why her?

Of course, he had already said the reason before. He had already said that her personality is refreshing and he liked her condescending, sarcastic way of talking, but it was not enough to convince her. She asked again, hoping for another answer. It didn't even take a moment for him to find his response.

"Well, if you can handle a girl who speaks harshly and snaps at you all the time then you can handle anything!" she heard him exclaim proudly.

"Why is it that the most insulting compliments always come from you?" she growled and turned away, once again speeding up her walking pace to effectively leave him behind. She heard the prince apologize and run up to her, promising to do better next time.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! But we've got all the time in the world-unless it does end with Grima- and I've got a ton of other days to improve and one day I'm really going to make you say you enjoy talking to me so you'd better look forward to next time! That is to say, tomorrow!" he laughed, falling into step with her.

"Whatever. Just hurry it up! We've still got more trips to take and I don't want to keep doing this till midnight!" she grumbled. Severa couldn't help but smile despite herself. _Next time, he says._

* * *

><p><strong><em>EXTRA:<em>**

"I am here as I have said Inigo." It was two days after their talk in the forest and Lucina had found herself calling for Inigo as she stood outside of his tent one morning after practice. The two, who have finally agreed to meet up for their little help-Morgan-with-his-first-love mission have also decided on a decent schedule which didn't interrupt any of their training sessions or war councils and Lucina didn't even have to scold the mercenary once. They agreed to thrice a week or maybe when both were taking a break from their duties after Inigo had conviced Lucina that it was also another way of relaxing, something she needed more than anything.

Lucina waited a bit more before calling out the mercenary's name once again. "Alright, I heard you the first time! Sheesh."

Inigo's response certainly surprised Lucina. The mercenary wasn't the type to talk like that to a girl even in his worst mood. Even stranger so, he wasn't the type to let a girl wait for him for so long as well. The princess wondered if he was having a bad day and this was a bad time to go on with their meetings. The princess looked at her fingers and contemplated on leaving when Inigo's tent flap flew open harshly, nearly hitting her. The mercenary didn't even offer her an apology and simply strutted to her.

"Um… Inigo, is this a bad time because we can just do this another da—"

"No, I'd rather not waste another day. Come on." The mercenary grumbled.

Inigo wasn't wearing his usual smile. He walked faster in front of Lucina, hunched back and brooding and the princess had to hasten up to keep up with him. Inigo didn't even glance back at her once on their way to the mess tent. His behavior also caught the attention of everyone else who saw them. Lucina could only offer them a shake of the head and a frown.

Upon arriving at the mess tent, Inigo picked up a small tea pot, a cake, two cups, plates and spoons. He carelessly slid it on the table where Lucina sat, silently watching him. The mercenary slumped down on his seat as well and grabbed the tea pot and poured himself a drink. He took a slice of cake for himself and proceeded to pick on it, doing nothing else. He'd look at Lucina once or twice, but he offered no smile or small talk. To say that it made Lucina uncomfortable was an understatement. She really has never seen Inigo act like this towards her or any other girl for that matter. It felt like he was talking to a more unapproachable Gerome.

"Inigo?"

"What?" he snapped harshly, earning a frown from the princess.

"Is there something wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong. Just go on with your own business. Wouldn't want to trouble you."

After that small exchange, the unbearable silence continued until they finished their snacks. Inigo had finished first while Lucina had been halfway on her cake. The mercenary had his elbows on the table, his chin propped up on his palm. He sighed constantly and made no effort to disguise his boredom and impatience. It never failed to make Lucina insulted. Once she was finished, Inigo gave a small, but audible "finally" and pushed himself up. "I'm leaving. Just take that to the back. Maybe wash it. Whatever." He said and started turning away from the princess. Lucina was dumbfounded. There was definitely something wrong with Inigo. Before he could exit the mess tent, Lucina stood up and followed after him, grabbing his wrist and turning him harshly to face her.

"Inigo, what is wrong with you?" she growled. The mercenary gave her an annoyed look and only raised his brow. "I told you, it's nothing." He said.

"There is something wrong! Why are you acting like this? If you think I am going to let you keep up with this kind of attitude then-" with her question, Inigo finally turned to face the princess fully and snatched his wrist from her before crossing his arms. "Before I answer that, one question." He stated. The princess was glaring at him, but her nod signaled him to continue.

"Do you like it when I act like this?" he asked. Lucina didn't even have to think too long. He answer was quick to come. "No. I don't like it when you act so rough and rude." she admitted. She watched as Inigo's posture relaxed, his arms dropped down to his hip and his frown slowly stretch out into a smile Lucina had come to associate with the mercenary. "And that, Lucina, is lesson number one." He chuckled.

"Huh?" Inigo had to lead her back to the table where they sat earlier and poured the princess another cup of tea. Compared to earlier, he was gentler in his actions and the peaceful smile he had on put Lucina at ease despite her confusion. "So! Lesson number one." He said, after handing the princess her cup of tea.

"Ladies love men who are gallant and well-mannered. Men who are gentle towards them and do not make them uncomfortable. Sure, maybe they find brooding lords like Gerome more attractive than good old me, but even Gerome doesn't act rude towards ladies. Some may find sad men with tragic back stories charming, but never rude men. Don't you agree?"

"Yes you are right. But I don't think Morgan is rude. Neither does he try to."

"Well yes, but sometimes he just gets too nervous and he ends up saying unflattering things."

"I… suppose you are also right about that. I shall tell him this then."

"Good to know you learned something today. Oh and I'm sorry I acted like that. My knees were trembling the whole time."

Lucina nodded at Inigo's nervous laugh and kept silent, her eyes trained on the cup of tea in her hands. She took a small sip before placing the cup on the table. "Did you have to act like that though? Why not just tell me?" she asked. Inigo hummed before answering. "Because even I'm not sure about this advice. Morgan needs advice coming from a lady's perspective, coming from you. What you like, what you don't like, Morgan needs to know that. But not all of it. I mean, not all girls have the same tastes as you. I need to make you experience it so you can really tell him what's the best action to do."

"You surely are very informative when it comes to matters like these." Lucina admitted.

"I guess… but now, have you finally realized that you like me? Or at least, my personality?"

Inigo gave her a beaming smile and a wink which Lucina didn't even react to. She just shrugged and turned away. "I suppose you do have your charms, Inigo." Then, a small smile formed on her face and it was Inigo's turn to stare.

"Good gods that is one sweet reward I managed to receive."

* * *

><p><strong>A.N.<strong>

It's still about a week right? Not really? Well just 4 days ago, my laptop was confiscated so I couldn't upload earlier. I had to resort to immature tricks to get it back (and I'm not so eager to do it again mind you). But anyway, it's starting to get hotter here, it's almost unbearable. I haven't actually written the next chapters so I'm just making this up as I go now. Hope you enjoyed this one anyway.

**Riku Uzumaki:** for his sake, it's better to hope for the best. But since it's Lucina he's meddling with, well... who can say?

**Sparks101:** let's just hope he doesn't manage to upset Lucina that much :'D

**FireEmblemMaster101:** well I should have expected that after all it may happen in real life as well and not just in FE games (actually I only played 3 FE games, Awakening included so I'm not at all familiar with support convos) and yup, you're right about the skirt-chasers now that you mention it

Well that's chapter 6 with a dose of Inigo/Lucina extra. Oh and just in case you're confused, the Inigo/Lucina part happened BEFORE the Morgan/Severa anyway, that's all.

Thanks for all the faves and follows! Reviews are very much appreciated too! Til next time!


	10. Wife Material?

Ever since the day they drew water for camp, Morgan had kept true to his word that he'd come by and visit Severa an hour a day. He usually came to her at night just after dinner before they went to bed, with Morgan bringing her a cup of tea or milk, anything that helped Severa sleep or give her better dreams. On days when they had night duties, the prince would simply come by during the afternoon and he came by every day, without fail, always specially seeking her out. They talked about anything and everything and Morgan never ran out of things to tell her. All of them, tales, news, gossip, opinions, ideas, Severa loved to hear them all and by the end of their first talk session, the mercenary had already been regretting her decision, giving him only an hour to talk to him as Morgan, for his part, was careful to stick to the allotted time.

Still, just to find out just how much he valued his time with her, she tried hiding from him quite a few times and he still managed to track her down, every single time. She'd come up with an excuse not to talk to him but he'd wait until she was finally free. When Severa had missed their daily talking hour on purpose, Morgan had desperately argued the next day that she owed him another hour for that. Despite being happy that Morgan valued their time together however short, Severa had put up a good fight against it and yet, she still grudgingly agreed to it nonetheless, complete with her trademark complaints. She had long since stopped questioning his motives for his eagerness as she knew that he would only give her nonsense answers that confused or insulted her unknowingly but by now, she was used to it, having accepted that Morgan was slightly insensitive and really needed help talking to girls.

* * *

><p>Severa grunted in annoyance. This was one of those nights where she'd be having dinner later than normal and she was in no way, grateful for it. She hated nights like these, nights when everyone seemed to momentarily forget there was a great war looming over them and started a civil war of their own. In the mess tent.<p>

It was one of those most anticipated nights in camp where everyone helped make dinner for the entire army and everyone just threw in whatever seemed good. However, everyone usually meant Frederick, Cordelia, Cherche, Libra, Gaius (who was in charge of sweets and appetizers) and the unlikely, go-with-anything-but surprisingly-still-do-a-fine-job chef, Robin. Everyone else mostly shouted their requests and brought in whatever ingredients they picked up while the ones in charge of cooking whipped up whatever was requested. These kinds of nights usually meant making a huge clutter out in the mess tent and everyone usually scrambled to get a piece of everything. It did not help that Chrom, Morgan and Lucina, being the supportive family they were, often lead the little civil war themselves, usually the first ones in line hogging everything Robin cooked. Between those who unfailingly rallied behind the Exalt and those who wanted to snag even a bit of Robin's cooking (which was hard as the royal family were notorious for their large appetites, Lissa and Owain included), these nights often resulted in a commotion Severa preferred not to take part in.

During these nights, she usually sat alone by herself far from the mess tent, stroking whatever small fire she built for herself to keep her warm. She would wait for a few hours before she would decide it was finally safe to step in the mess tent without getting tackled and shoved out, soup and sauce flying at the entrance. The last time she tried, Vaike had nearly not-so-gracefully shoved her face in Lon'qu's potatoes which resulted in an hour-long battle between the two men. Noire had to restrain her otherwise she'd jump in the fray without hesitation. She couldn't even eat at the corner without at least one or two pieces of vegetables flying at her. Four spoonfuls later, she angrily shoved her food away and stormed out.

Severa did the exact same thing that night. The loud shouts that erupted from the mess tent could be heard even in the distance from where she sat outside. She snarled and went back to stroking the fire she built for herself.

If she were being honest, she'd say that she felt lonely and left out whenever these things happened. She'd never admit it outright though, she wasn't especially looking for attention.

Just as she was thinking about that, a figure suddenly plopped itself beside her without warning, effectively giving her company. Because she was in deep thought, she had failed to see the other person coming towards her so the sudden company made her jump away and even more so when it she had seen that the said other person was the future Ylissean prince, Morgan.

"Oh gods, that's one big hellhole in there today." The tactician prince gasped, slumping further against the log both he and Severa sat against. He slipped his cloak off his shoulders and fanned himself with its sleeves, doing minimal help to lessen the sweat falling from his forehead. He ran a hand through his hair and grimaced, possibly because of the unbearable heat he was currently feeling. Severa watched him continue as if he didn't notice her sitting close beside him. She watched as beads of sweat continued forming on his forehead, run down along his cheeks to his chin and drop to his knees when not wiped off. With his coat slipping off his shoulders, Severa could make out his lean figure despite the clothing that covered his upper body.

She could see how constant heavy training with Chrom and Lucina shaped his muscles just the way Severa preferred, not too scrawny, but not too built and muscular either. She then decided that his muscles were just right, firm and lean, definitely attractive and Severa was mildly surprised at this. She knew Morgan preferred using light tomes than heavy weaponries so she didn't think that he'd have such nicely developed muscles (she found herself staring at the pectoral and bicep areas more, they were definitely a charming bunch). Add that to the fact that he always had such a bulky and heavy looking coat on, Severa had always imagined him to be skinny. She briefly wondered how it would feel like to rest her head against his broad shoulders or his firm chest. It took her quite a lot of self-restrain just to keep herself from tackling him then and there. Instead, she mentally slapped herself and cleared her throat and Morgan quickly turned his gaze to her.

"Oh, Severa!" he grinned and immediately slipped his coat back on, hiding the sight Severa had been staring at for the past two minutes. The mercenary nearly let out a groan of dissatisfaction. Instead, she sighed and looked away, back to the fire in front of them. "Yes, Morgan?" she asked, trying to sound as annoyed as possible.

"What are you up to?" he asked, still continuing to fan his face. His trademark smile slipped quite a bit before he finally decided that it was too hot and just wiped his face. "I was trying to enjoy a moment of peace and solitude. And you've just ruined it. Again. Thanks." She grunted, poking the fire. She heard him chuckle and shuffle his clothes to let a bit of air in.

"Ouch! You don't mince words, do you?"

"I thought you were used to it by now."

"I could be hopeful every now and then, right?" he grinned, to which she replied with a silent 'whatever'.

"But hey, if you're not peaceful anymore, does that mean you're free?"

"Wow. Someone's pushing their luck."

"Ha I know! Glass half full- that's me! Anyway, everyone's making dinner in the mess tent, why don't you join us? Our mothers are cooking again!" he exclaimed, obviously excited about Robin's cooking. Severa, who was too busy thinking about the ongoing chaos in the mess-tent, couldn't find it in herself to be excited about Cordelia's cooking.

"If everyone is there, you won't miss me." She snarled in annoyance.

"Aww, don't be like that! I actually snuck off because I noticed you weren't there."

It didn't take long for Severa to process what he had just said. At once, Severa's face started heating up and her eyes found their way to Morgan's face, who offered her a gentle smile. He teasingly wiggled his eyebrows as he watched her reaction. Come to think of it, Robin was cooking. Severa could swear that Morgan would never want to miss his mother's cooking and he'd fight his own father and sister for a plate of his mother's dishes. For him to sneak away just like that was unheard of.

"…Unless you can't cook." His added statement managed to distract Severa enough to throw a retort back at him.

"I can cook well enough, thank you." She scoffed.

"Then come on! I'd love a chance to sample your cooking."

"Maybe I don't ever want to cook for you! Did you even think of that?"

"Look, it doesn't even have to be good. All I ask is that it's edible."

That comment made Severa frown. Up until now, she still didn't know if he was insulting her on purpose or he's just unbearably insensitive with his words. She was starting to think that it was the former. But only just. "Oh my gosh, you are so rude!" she nearly screamed at him, which caused him to back away just a little, hands drawn up. He chuckled nervously, his easy-going smile never slipping away.

"I'm not trying to be! I'm just curious about what you eat."

"Rude! What happened to trying better? Ugh! Morgan, you are hopeless! I eat what everyone else eats!" she exclaimed and this time, she really did scream, silencing the ruckus in the mess tent by a bit. Both of them turned towards the tent before falling into a silence, with Morgan breaking it with his jovial chuckles. A pointed look from her silenced him not long after.

"S-Sorry, I didn't mean…" he drifted off and just stopped after a while. He picked up a nearby twig and went on to poke the fire the same way Severa was doing earlier. It took him a few more seconds before he spoke again, a gentle smile on his face.

"But y'know there's a lot of good cooks here huh? Never would've expected it from an army. Lucina gets lessons from Mother so their cooking tastes almost the same. Aunt Lissa's just lethal but Owain is a genius at it! He must've gotten it from Uncle Frederick. Cynthia's a decent cook too I guess. Although most of her creations could pass for desserts. Kjelle's really horrible. Really… Horrible." Morgan emphasized Kjelle's cooking grimly, his smile turning into a grimace. No doubt he remembered the time when Kjelle had cooked for the army and gave them a bad case of food poisoning and indigestion. Morgan was one of the unlucky few who suffered the most as he had blindly stuffed himself full even before the taste or the effects came rushing to him. The whole royal family had to stay with him for hours as he kept groaning, tossing and turning in the infirmary tent.

"Inigo, Laurent and Brady are okay… Yarne's cooking mostly consists of carrots on the other hand. And Gerome! He's great. As expected of Cherche's son! If he was female, I'd marry him right away. He can do a lot of things after all. He'd be a great wife." He contemplated, placing a hand on his chin as if he was thinking of a new tactic. He nodded solemnly, agreeing with his own statement. Briefly, Severa wondered what Gerome would be like if he was a girl and she found herself unable to visualize it. Still, that idea left her thinking long after their conversation was done and ever since then, she couldn't bring herself to look at the Wyvern lord and not wonder.

"And then… there's Nah and Noire. Good gods, their cooking is delicious! S-Such delicacies are hard to forget. You should really come and eat with me and Owain sometime when Noire and Nah are cooking; you'd really agree! Although Nah uses weird ingredients every now and then, it's still really—"

"Fine! Fine! If I cook you something, will that shut you up?" Severa grunted, effectively stopping Morgan from his rambling. Somehow, it irked her that Morgan had been praising everyone else's cooking but hers, especially Gerome, who could very well be Morgan's definition of "wife material". Even Kjelle had managed to get an opinion out of Morgan.

Severa watched as Morgan's gentle smile grew into a beaming one and he nodded furiously. "Oh absolutely!" he exclaimed excitedly. The look he gave her suddenly made Severa feel determined not to disappoint him.

"Then I'll whip up something amazing and you'll never get to question me again!"

"Ooh! I can't wait!"

_That's it. Time to use the special cooking skill I inherited from mother. I'm going to snatch that "wife material" title from Gerome even if it kills me._

* * *

><p><strong>A.N.<strong>

So this one's earlier since I've had enough time to actually write and rewrite a bit of the past chapters, nothing big, just rewording and rephrasing stuff.

And today, I revealed or at least hinted two other fathers! So as of now, the 1st gen pairings would be Chrom/Fem!MU, Frederick/Lissa and Gaius/Sumia. Those pairings are pretty much a constant in each of my saved data (if I ignore skills and stats). As much as I want to marry Fem!MU to Stahl (because as a character, I think he weighs slightly more than Chrom to me), I usually go with Chrom since that'd make the story a lot better in my opinion (I mean come on! If they weren't married even Lucina would comment about it herself in her nonsibling support with Morgan!)

Then there's Frederick/Lissa, one of my more favored OTPs. Those two remind me of Seth and Eirika from sacred stones and those two are pretty much the first FE couple I went with. Besides, Frederick happens to be Lissa's first love and according to her, it's a dream-come-true, marrying her first love! Even if I had to grind and reclass Frederick a hell lot of times just to have Owain keep up with the other 2nd gen kids. Seriously, I have this unspoken rule that all royal kids must be the strongest. Lucina and Morgan is already a given since the very flexible Fem!MU is their mother but Owain needs more work with Frederick's genes.

Oh, oh! I also love imagining how Owain might have gotten a bit of his colorful side from Frederick. I mean, the great knight can be a biiiiit over the top (see supports with MU). Whenever Owain screams how he can't control his sword hand and his "cursed" blood, I can't help but remember how Frederick would scream about how he's dying while eating bear meat. And to me, I can really expect him to put "I love Lissa" in his things, being the devoted guardian and husband he is hahaha.

Gaius/Sumia is another given. Although it's mostly because I'm saving up Henry for Olivia and Frederick goes to Lissa by default. Buuuut of course, the pairing is still pretty adorable. I would have appreciated it if Sumia had more options tho.

And about the kids' skills in cooking, I pretty much just assumed here. As mentioned by Fem!Morgan, Owain seems like a good cook, Kjelle is as bad as Sully, Noire is good with pastries and then... I'm not so sure about the others. As for Gerome, I just thought he'd be good with chores, seeing as his mother is good as well.

But all of these above is just my opinion~

**FireEmblemMaster101:** Ugh the new game... I wish it would be released sooner, internationally as well. I was surprised at their new take on it too! Two games with a chance of a 3rd setting! I heard it wasn't like pokemon (who offers two games with the exact same setting and plot with a bit of a different selection of pokemon) since Nintendo said both games are pretty different from each other. That'd burn a hole in my wallet that's for sure. I just hope they'd sell it in a bundle for the West as well, I know they're going to do that for Japan. Oh but thanks again!

**Sparks101:** Thanks!

**Guest: **guess that's another reason... the next best thing would have to be Sol or any other skill close to that. Although my reason would probably be more story-inclined since they didn't bother to address Cordelia's unrequited love for Chrom AFTER they're both married. It kind of bothers me how she appears to still think about him when Chrom's already got a wife and kids and when she's got a family herself. The developers could have made it so she changes her dialogues after she's married but oh well... maybe that's asking for too much?

So that's a wrap for chapter 7 aaand thanks for reading, yet again!

Thanks for the faves, follows and reviews! They are very much welcomed and appreciated!


	11. Mothers Know Best

Severa was starting to feel hopeless. And tired. And irritated. But generally, she was just starting to feel really hopeless. Her mother was undoubtedly a genius. Perfect. The ultimate woman and wife material. She was the great, master chef who didn't own a single cookbook. Not even one. Everywhere she searched, there was not a single one! Not even a recipe written on a scrap of paper! Absolutely none! Cordelia did not own any kind of cookbook but she managed to whip up master dishes that could rival a professional chef in just a short time. It was like the gods were mocking her.

It had already been two and a half hours and she had already ransacked her parents shared tent and there were still no recipe tomes to be found! In irritation, she growled and threw the nearest book on her parent's cot. Why was it that Cordelia owned a useless dating book instead of the ones crucial to marriage life?

"This is stupid! This is useless! Why do you have to be so perfect in everything Mother!" she grunted and fell on her parents' cot, shoving the book on top of it as she did so. Just as she lay down, Cordelia appeared at the tent entrance, pushing the tent flap open. Looking at the mess around, she gave her daughter an unimpressed glance. "Is there something wrong Severa?" Cordelia asked gently, picking up the scattered books as she went over to her daughter. Severa contemplated on just ignoring or leaving, but she reminded herself not to upset Cordelia too much so instead, she squirmed and moved aside to give enough space for the Pegasus Knight to sit on. Between her mission of changing the future and her feelings for Morgan, she already had enough trouble and fights with her mother were not something she wanted to add to her list.

"It's nothing you should trouble yourself with Mother. Don't pry." Severa answered simply.

"Oh? But if you're trashing your parents' tent, then don't you think I should worry?"

Cordelia sat beside her daughter, on the space provided and placed the books she picked up on her lap. As she waited for Severa's answer, she ran her hands along the covers and read the titles silently. They were books she had long since finished and read multiple times. She ones read some with Sumia and Robin and looking at her daughter, who was currently lying down beside her in deep thought, she started wondering if one day she'll read it to Severa as well.

"You don't have cookbooks." Severa finally murmured.

"Hmm? What was that dear?"

Severa frowned and sat up, looking at her mother before averting her gaze to the mess she made earlier and started softly swinging her legs. "I said, you don't have a cookbook." She repeated, the tone of her voice turning sharper than she had originally started. She'd drop short glances from time to time, but she'd never let her eyes linger on her mother longer than she thought necessary. "I mean, I know you're a great cook and all, but isn't it just ridiculous that you don't have any kind of recipe book at all? How much more insulting can you get, Mother?" Severa spat out the word 'mother' as if it were poison, finally sending Cordelia a heated glare in the process. When the Pegasus knight didn't answer at once, the mercenary frowned and muttered a small apology. She huffed and dropped back on the cot, making the couple-sized, collapsible bed bounce up slightly at her sudden movement. A sudden giggle escaped her mother's lips, which Severa definitely didn't miss.

"Sorry… I just… I'm really annoyed that I can't find one right now." She mumbled loud enough for her mother to hear. Cordelia just gave her a small smile before putting her hands on her daughter's hair, gently stroking Severa's twin tails. She marveled at how smooth and silky they were, but seeing as Severa spent a long time on her hair, it was only to be expected. She reminded herself to one day spend time with her daughter, just to brush her hair.

"If you don't mind me asking, why do you need one so much? You're not on kitchen duty anytime soon." She asked.

"I'm not but… I'm cooking for… someone."

"Oh? Who is it?"

"Mother, I think that's all you need to know. So do you have one or not?"

Severa quickly threw a question at her mother to avoid answering any more. The blush slowly forming on her face didn't fail to pique Cordelia's interest though and the Pegasus knight just found herself wanting to ask more. Still, she had enough experience to know that she shouldn't just drop questions when Severa was feeling flustered and this moment was one of those times. The mercenary, in turn, just huffed and crossed her arms, waiting for a decent response which was given to her not long after.

"All that I know in cooking, I learned from your grandmother and I learned and memorized them by heart so no, I'm afraid I don't have any cookbooks to help you. I'm sorry dear." Cordelia said apologetically, once again returning to stroking the covers of the books she placed on her lap. Severa just sighed and stood up, preparing to leave. "Just as I thought. No use asking you anyway Mother." She grumbled, but before she could even walk close to the tent flap, Cordelia stopped her, having rushed to her daughter and grabbing her wrists.

"But! If it's really important to you, I could write down all that I know for you. It won't take long, I'll give you the best." Cordelia smiled, hoping to please her daughter. Severa frowned and furrowed her eyebrows, slightly shifting her eyes to the ground, suddenly guilty of acting rude towards her mother. She looked back up at the Pegasus Knight and nodded hesitantly, brightening up her mother's expression. "O-Okay… B-But just so you know, this isn't so important." She mumbled shyly, shaking off her mother's hand and crossing her arms.

Cordelia knew it was a lie, because she knew exactly what was going on inside her daughter's mind and if it weren't as important as she said it was, then she doubted that Severa would even make such an effort. Afraid of further embarrassing her daughter and risking a chance of her storming out, Cordelia decided to just keep quiet and march over to her desk and took a pen and a few papers. Behind her, she could hear Severa picking up the other books she scattered and rearranging them back to how it was earlier. Both mother and daughter headed to sit on the cot after and Cordelia started scrawling out notes while Severa watched and read whatever was written. Inwardly, Severa would smile at how simple the recipes were, thinking of how even someone like her could follow them with ease.

"You do know that this will cost you a week of mother-daughter time right?" Cordelia chuckled as she continued to write. Severa leaned back, slightly flustered yet still sporting a frown. She threw her hands up to show her annoyance which didn't convince her mother at all. "Ugh! Why must everyone try to bargain for my time?" she nearly screamed, but Cordelia's curious glance made her rethink her previous statement.

"Really now? So who else is vying for your time?" Cordelia asked with a teasing smile which Severa failed to notice. She did, however went back to writing, stopping every now and then to inspect her work. Severa, on the other hand, didn't spend much time thinking of her answer and simply blurted it out. "There's you and Morgan of course!" she answered fiercely enough to make her mother stop writing, but it didn't stop the smile that quickly found its way on the Pegasus knight's face.

"Oh? Just the two of us? I did notice you spending more time with Morgan than you usually—"

"A-And I have to take care of Inigo, Brady and Yarne! And don't get me started on Noire!"

"Yes, yes, I thought so too." Cordelia only laughed and continued writing despite her daughter vocally protesting beside her. "Don't laugh! Ugh this isn't funny mom!" she groaned, hiding her blush with her hands. Her mother only looked up when she finished writing the recipes which took up four pages, full from top to bottom. "Of course it isn't. I'm sorry, here you are dear." Cordelia handed Severa the papers who took it hesitantly and skimmed it at once. She frowned upon finishing and handed it back.

"Is there something wrong?"

"Mother, these are all stew recipes."

"And?"

"All of them. Fish stew, vegetable stew, mushroom stew, herb, herb and vegetable…"

"What is up with you and stew?" Severa questioned and retracted her hand when Cordelia didn't take back the papers. The knight only smiled and shook her head. She stood up and stretched before walking back to her desk and replacing the left pieces of paper and pen. "That's fine Severa, trust me, that's the best choice for now. It's simple and effortless and the ingredients are easy to find. Very practical."

Once she had accepted her mother's explanation, Severa followed, standing up and walking over to the tent flap. Before she could leave, Cordelia spoke up, stopping her from her tracks. "Oh and Severa, why don't you go and ask help from Robin while you're at it? After all, she knows what kind of food Morgan loves best."

"M-Mother, what are you implying?" Severa demanded, but rushed out of the tent before she could hear Cordelia's answer, all to hide her red-colored cheeks.

* * *

><p>It had taken a while before Severa had summoned the courage to finally go up and cook something, or at least practice. After her time with her mother, she had rushed back to her own tent, once again surprising Cynthia with her abrupt arrival. She crashed on top of her cot and buried her face, crumpling the recipe papers in the process. Despite that, she couldn't bring herself to care about it as it was long after before she decided to sit up, only to crash into it again, sending waves of worry to Cynthia. The blush on her cheeks didn't just go away as quickly as she had hoped it would as the thought of her mother catching on about her and Morgan was embarrassing. Actually, Severa could swear that her mother already knew something about her not-so-secret feelings for the prince. How she came to know about it, Severa didn't know, but she was just so certain of it.<p>

Half an hour later, when she was so sure that her blush had finally subsided, she stepped out of her tent and headed out to the mess tent and straight to the kitchens. She held the recipes in her hands tightly, smoothing out the wrinkles she made. However, as she entered, she stopped dead on her tracks upon seeing an unwanted person also inside: Robin.

Severa contemplated on whether to turn back and come later or approach the tactician. She nearly chose the former, suddenly feeling nervous around her new-found love's mother, but her mother's earlier words suddenly crept back into Severa's mind and she found herself walking over to Robin, who was stirring a big pot of what looked like their dinner.

"Ah, yes. Perfect. Adding that dash of fenugreek really did the trick." She heard Robin exclaim as she slurped a bit of what she cooked. Severa spoke up too soon and cleared her throat for the tactician to take notice of her. "Oh, hello Severa. I was expecting you toni—"

In her nervous state, she quickly interrupted the other with a question that she had no trouble asking in an annoyed manner. "What are you doing, Robin?" she added a raised eyebrow and crossed arms, hoping to hide her anxiety. Robin didn't seem to notice, or if she did, she didn't say anything about it.

"I'm just putting the finishing touches on tonight's stew." Robin replied as she turned back to the giant pot and continued stirring, just as she had been doing earlier. "It's my turn in the galley, you see." Severa wondered why it was Robin's turn. Just the other night, she had cooked for the army along with the others. Her turn shouldn't come up until next month or so. However, the thought was quickly dismissed when Severa stepped forward and a delicious aroma drifted to her and distracted her enough to voice out her confusions.

"It smells pretty okay… are you, like, a professional cook or something?" she asked, coming closer to the pot to get a better smell. The contents of the said pot were of a delectable color, and she could see the many different ingredients that Robin used. "Me? Oh, gracious no. It's nothing special. I just tossed a few things in the pot." The tactician stated as she added another tablespoon of what looked like salt before continuing to mix.

"Pfft. False modesty is so overrated. I can tell by the smell alone that a lot of work went into that stew. Ahhh… all kinds of herbs and stuff. You musta been cooking for hours." Severa stated as she took another whiff of the aroma. She could definitely tell why Chrom and their kids were excited about her cooking. Her roasted boar was an army-proclaimed delicacy as well, a favorite among many of the Shepherds.

"You're very kind, but I really think I just got lucky today. Usually when I cook, it ends up tasting like mud. …Or burned mud." Robin confessed as she finally put out the fire and set the long-handed spoon she had been holding. "I told you already, that stuff is totally overrated! Gawds!"

"I'm sorry?"

"I mean, really! Why do you think Morgan loves your cooking so much? A-And Chrom and Lucina too! It's not just because you're their wife and mother you know? But another thing! What in blazes are you doing fiddling around with soups, anyway?! I know for a fact that you're not actually on kitchen duty!"

"Gracious, that was quite a speech Severa, but… heh. Well, you got me. I just thought I should help you cook for Morgan."

"Wha—why does everyone think that I'm doing this for Morgan?" Severa groaned, nearly crushing her mother's hand written recipes. Robin didn't look like she needed to think of an answer as she was already opening her mouth to give Severa a reply.

"You do know that we heard you the other night… right?"

" The other—we? Who's we?"

"Everyone in the mess tent. You screamed something and everyone just stopped to listen. Thank Naga you did, Frederick was getting his lance ready just to control the commotion. I think I heard Morgan say something about wanting to marry Gerome if he were a girl and you telling him, that you'll cook him something." Robin stated simply as she moved the dinner to a table and set another pot by the fire.

Severa could only look in horror as Robin said nothing else and took out the ingredients. "So… everyone heard?" she asked in a hushed tone, which Robin could barely hear.

"Well… Vaike was already out cold by then."

* * *

><p>Two days. It took Severa two days to perfect Cordelia and Robin's collaborated fish and vegetable stew. It took her a lot of sweat, blood and tears before she reached that point and she had to work with both Cordelia and Robin to make it, always having to insist that she was doing it purely because Morgan had questioned her feminine capabilities (no matter how sexist it made Morgan appear) and nothing else. It didn't seem like the two believed her despite all her convincing, but Severa was too tired to even argue further.<p>

She finished her final product just before the army marched again and she was lucky enough to have spotted Morgan quickly as it saved her the trouble of leaving her creation unguarded for an extended amount of time. She found him standing beside Cynthia in what seemed like a conversation. A one-sided conversation that involved Morgan talking and Cynthia staring. As Severa drew closer, she began to suspect that it wasn't a conversation at all and more like a staring contest as the two stared at each other without speaking. She could see Morgan trying to keep his smile intact. He was nearly grimacing.

"I can actually feel myself growing old waiting for you to finish a sentence. I'm starting to think this was a bad idea." He finally said and his smile slipped, replaced by a worried frown. Severa waited for a few more moments and watched Cynthia narrate tiredly. It wasn't long till they finished and Cynthia skipped ahead of Morgan, who rubbed his temples in obvious frustration.

"Not that I could tell her without breaking her heart though… ah, well. At least she's smiling again." He sighed. Severa wondered what he meant by that but decided not to just spring up and ask about it. Instead, she casually strode over to him, pretending as if she had just noticed him. "Ah, there you are. Come here, Morgan." She called authoritatively and was greeted by a smile, which just appeared from Morgan's face all of a sudden when she called him.

"Mmm? Did you need me for something?"

"You said you wanted to taste my cooking, right? Well, now's your chance. I just finished making something."

"You did? Just for me? Gosh, I'm flattered!" Morgan practically skipped over to her to close the distance between them and it flustered her to see how a small blush appeared on his cheeks. He was smiling so happily and expectantly at her that she failed to control her own blush from showing. She hurriedly turned away and started walking back to the mess tent in an effort to hide her steadily reddening face, with Morgan trailing closely behind.

"Not for you! I was just bored. I decided to cook on a lark." She growled. Morgan sat on a nearby table and watched as she went over to a large pot and scooped up a plateful of stew. He wondered if it usually took cooking a large pot of stew to satisfy her boredom. However, he decided not to ask, lest Severa decides that feeding him was a bad idea after all.

The mercenary slid the plate on his table carefully so as not to spill it. "Here. Try this stew." She ordered and Morgan reached out for it, sniffed slightly and scrutinized it. "Whoa, it looks amazing. Pretty too!" he complimented.

"The red tomato base is balanced by the green beans and the orange carrots. I see a good choice of fish and the fine selection of spices is obvious—" Severa was getting more and more flustered with Morgan's comments. Although it pleased her to hear him praise her, it also made her increasingly nervous. She wondered why he put so much attention to presentation anyway.

"Less talking, more chewing!" with her current anxiety, her breath nearly hitched as she ordered him to eat.

"Ah! Right… mmm…" Severa could swear that her own heartbeat was louder than war drums as she watched Morgan shove his first spoonful inside his mouth. His reaction was quite delayed and she started worrying over his next comment, whether he'd announce her cooking to be delicious or horrible.

"Wow, it's delicious!" he smiled and continued shoving spoonful after spoonful, continuously, one after the next. It almost seemed as if he no longer stopped to chew and Severa released a sigh of relief. Her hands, which she hid behind her back, squeezed her mother's recipes tight, further crumpling them as she muttered a silent thank you repeatedly like a mantra. He had already finished the stew, looking content and pleased when he stated his added comments.

"But…" he started, sitting up properly.

"…But?!" Severa questioned, unable to believe that there must be something else.

"I feel like it's missing something."

And there it was. It was missing something? Severa racked her brain as to what it could be. "What? Did I leave out a spice?" she asked, still trying to remember what it was she left out.

"No, it's not that… it's missing… hmm, what's it missing? I can't quite put a finger on it." He said, putting a hand up his chin and closing his eyes, concentrating hard to determine and find an answer. Watching him irritated Severa. "Are you sure you even know what you're talking about?"

"Er, I guess not?" he laughed and sent her a worried glance before stopping. "But it really was good! I mean it! I know it sounds like I'm nitpicking, but that really wasn't my intent."

"You can't just tell someone their amazing stew is missing something and not say what!"

"I wish I knew." He shrugged.

"Argh! You are so frustrating me right now!" Severa groaned as she sat across him and slammed her hands on the table. Morgan, on the other hand stood up and rushed to her with the intention of appeasing her. "I know, I'm sorry! …Maybe it's fine. I could just be feeling weird. Regardless, I'm impressed. I didn't think you'd be much of a cook. I mean, you seemed like more of the spoiled princess type, you know? But a hearty stew full of fish and veggies feels like classic home cooking."

His praise made her look up at him and her glare softened. Just as she thought that the reddening of her cheeks were about to subside, it had to return worse than before. She could feel her mouth starting to form a small smile but she hid it just before he could see it. A triumphant grin pasted itself on Morgan's face as he attempted to make eye contact with her.

"T-That's enough commentary!" Severa exclaimed.

"But the fact that you didn't contradict means you agree, right?"

"Shut it! Just finish your stew and just get out of here!" she growled, pushing him away softly and standing up. Morgan stepped away, furrowing his brow and shrugging. "Okay, I'm leaving right now! I promise!" he exclaimed, but stayed in place despite his statement. Severa raised an eyebrow and stared at him, watching him, waiting if he wanted to say anything else. Her frown deepened when he smiled bashfully and stepped closer to the pot.

"What?"

"Um, can I get seconds for the road? I'm really hungry." He asked.

"What? You've got the nerve huh?"

"Erm… uh right. I'll just join Cynthia then—"

"Fine! Take it! Whatever! Just, out! Now!"

Morgan visibly brightened up at her statement. She would have expected him to take another plateful, maybe two, but she didn't think he'd take the whole pot shamelessly without even looking back. Somehow, his actions made her laugh. But remembering earlier events made her feel slightly irritated as well. Severa chose to smile anyway and as she exited the mess tent, she didn't notice Robin and Cordelia standing in the distance, watching her with a knowing glance.

* * *

><p><strong>A.N.<strong>

This time I pretty much added three support convos, namely Fem!MU/Severa, Morgan/Cynthia and Morgan/Severa. I didn't go through the other two supports as faithfully as I did with Morgan/Severa because I thought it'd probably stall the story even more and I'm trying to keep the focus on Morgan/Severa interaction. Although I could have used Cynthia as a potential... *ahem* love rival to fuel Severa's jealousy even more, I decided against it since I already have a different love rival planned and in tow. Hope you guys don't mind...

on another note... I feel like I can't grasp Cordelia's attitude towards Severa. It feels lacking, like... she's too easy to write, but at the same time, she's not.

**EternalKing: **I suppose we're getting it as a single game then... that would mean that the other chapters will be DLC? I think I read that from somewhere... and thank you very much!

**vietnoboi: **Thank you! Although I only just use support convos as reference so it might be a little off sometimes

**Lol: **Thank you! The next chapters will have a lot of them so I'll try my best not to disappoint you hahaha! As for Lucina, well... we'll just have to see later on

**Cloy552: **B-But... the plot! Hahahah we'll just have to see what'll happen later on. I can assure you everyone will at least have a happy ending though. And yes, Morgan can be cunning even if he sometimes doesn't realize it

**Guest: **Yup, I have that love rival stored away somewhere in the coming chapters. She'll be playing a really vital role in the story after all, I'm telling you

**FireEmblemMaster101: **Wow they're pretty much bringing in the hate for another character into a completely different kind of fandom then (it doesn't help that this Sakura is speculated to be a war cleric too. I feel like the Sakura from FE and Naruto have too much in common for their liking). Although if you're given the chance to kill them off, I think it'd add another level of difficulty to the game, especially when you've grown kind of attached to the characters. Anyway, I guess that's one thing to look forward to for the new game.

And once again, that's it for chapter 8

Thanks so much for reading, for all the faves, follows and reviews!


	12. Avoid Crowds When On A Date

Free time and relaxation in the Shepherds were rare and as few as they come. In both of the campaigns against Plegia and Valm, discipline and training were strictly observed and enforced by the officers and ever since the Shepherds had first engaged into combat with the strong Valmese cavalry, Chrom and Robin had found it wise to put the whole army into a new and tougher training regimen developed by Frederick and Sully. The sudden change in training was drastic but greatly needed, and yet it nearly broke most warriors. No soldiers, unless indisposed, would go to bed with no joints and muscles aching. Finding the time to put one's feet up was close to impossible. Of course, with Chrom and Robin's concern towards their subjects' well-being, they would sometimes give a day for the army to relax and put their feet up (something Lissa had come to be greatly thankful of). Robin had to arrange a few days off to help the soldiers relax and keep them from overworking. Such days were spent differently, as not everyone had the same definition of relaxation.

If one were to ask Severa, she'd definitely say that shopping is one of her main outlets and though it certainly is one of the more expensive forms of relaxation, it was all worth it and enjoyable in her eyes. Her father, despite his normally generous attitude, thought otherwise and after the first time she had nearly emptied his pockets, had restricted her shopping escapades, with the promise of giving her allowance in exchange for camp work. Although the mercenary had complained quite vocally and openly at first, she had agreed nonetheless and worked twice as hard, also complaining twice as much.

When the next day off had been announced, Severa was the first one to bounce up at her father inside her parent's shared tent, smiling slyly up at him, her hands behind her and fidgeting with excitement. Her father knew what she wanted then and although hesitant, reached out to pat her head. "Alright, alright dear. I suppose you did earned it well." He sighed in mild exasperation and Cordelia, who stood beside her husband the whole time, just watched her husband and daughter in amused silence. "Of course I did, so this better be worth it Daddy!" she beamed up at her father. The man only chuckled and took out a pouch that Severa already knew was full of coins. Her hopeful look fell and confusion found its way to her when her father handed it to her without any sign of hesitation.

"You're not coming with me, Daddy?" she asked, genuinely confused. Normally, it was her father or mother who held the money for her and as much as she hated saying it, they just can't seem to trust her enough with it. "I'm sorry dear, but Daddy has a different appointment today." He said, shaking his head regretfully. "What? But it's our daddy daughter day! Have you forgotten?" Severa screeched, and yet she held on to the pouch tightly, as if her father would take it back.

"I know Severa, but would you forgive me if I said that today, I will be taking your mother out? With all these unsightly wars happening all around, we haven't been spending as much time together. Alone. You understand, right?" The mercenary stared at her parents in disbelief, mainly father.

"Unbelievable! You're just going to push me away like that? Your only daughter who came from this ruined future just to save yours? Who does that? Some parents you are!" Severa growled, saying more than she wanted to say. Half of the words that came out of her mouth weren't really meant but her parents have been with her long enough to know that. Her father only gave her another gentle smile and pat on the head. "Now now dear. That's unbecoming of a lady. You're sure to win against Owain anytime soon." The man chuckled as a horrified expression emerged from Severa and the mercenary began blushing and stuttering words against her father. She was about to argue even more, but Cordelia's small smile interrupted the words forming on her mouth.

"Then… who's going to come with me?" she grumbled instead, fists tightening and looking away. Cordelia seemed to be willing to offer suggestions, but before the red-head could talk, an excited call from outside the tent interrupted them abruptly. "Sev! Severa! Are you there?" the voice that Severa had grown to look forward to hearing everyday called out her name in rapid succession.

"Miss Cordelia said that you'll be going to town today! Can I come with you? I mean, if it's not a bother or anything…" Morgan continued to call out from outside the tent. For a moment, neither Severa nor her parents said anything, but Severa and her father had their eyes on Cordelia, who offered them a small, seemingly innocent smile. The mercenary had began to wonder just what her mother was planning, if she was involved in everything happening so far or if she even knew anything about the matter at all. If she were being honest, Severa wouldn't be surprised if Cordelia had admitted to knowing a few things to some extent. After she had screamed a few things at Morgan and nearly admitted to cooking for him, Severa could very well deduce that her mother at least had a clue as to what was happening. Cordelia wasn't dense or stupid after all. "Well, isn't it rude to reject a harmless offer from a prince?" the Pegasus knight muttered. As if on cue, a red tint had appeared on the mercenary's face and Severa countered her mother's bright smiles with her own poisonous glares. Severa knew that Cordelia was only being helpful, or at least trying, but for now, she wasn't sure if she'd thank her mother for her efforts or little pushes. "I'm only doing this because I need someone to carry my bags, alright?!" she spat out as she threw the tent flap open and stepped out.

* * *

><p>"Why are you tagging along with me again?" Severa groaned, rubbing her hands together as she and the prince walked along the busy pathways of the town's market place. It was only early in the morning, but the streets have been alive and bustling for more than three and a half hours now and the two of them were only part of an early morning crowd going about their own business. Severa's hands had been sweating since they first set on this trip. She was undoubtedly nervous about the whole thing, going out with Morgan with only the two of them together. Severa didn't know why she was so nervous. She had been alone with the prince for a lot of times already and thinking about it, they weren't completely alone as they were obviously surrounded by a crowd. Still, it did not stop Severa's heart from thumping loudly against her chest.<p>

"Errand from mother. She has to check the bookstores around for a few volumes but she's kind of busy today so I volunteered to do it. Then I heard from Miss Cordelia that you were going to town as well so I thought I'd tag along. Pretty convenient huh?" the prince explained, tugging the hood of his cloak further down to hide his face. Having the iconic Ylissean royal hair color (which Robin had deducted to be a dominant trait in the royal family with the exception of Lissa and Emmeryn, who had supposedly inherited their wavy blonde hair from their mother) meant trouble for him as he not only received more than a few stares, but he was also often approached by a curious crowd who liked to ask questions that he could not risk to answer. Severa wondered if he ever felt hot in wearing the cloak. As far as she has observed, he never seemed to perspire a lot, even with the blistering heat. Maybe it had something to do with the most recent and shocking revelation of him being half Plegian, as Robin had turned out to be a Plegian herself (a fact known only to a few officers, including Severa). Whatever the reason was, the cloak doesn't seem to bother him or Robin at all.

"Fine. You're lucky I let you tag along. You'd better carry my things as payback though. Now don't dawdle. I don't want to lose you." She started, earning a look from Morgan. Despite the cloak hood hiding half of his face, no one could miss that grin he's sporting and Severa knew she wasn't going to allow herself to miss it. Only then did she realize that she had worded that last statement different than how she originally meant it to sound. "A-After all, you're too much of a pain so don't even think of adding anything to all that by getting yourself lost! I'm not going to look for you!" she blurted out too loudly, stopping anyone close by and earning herself a few stares. "Come on." She hissed right after noticing everyone looking at her and continued walking in a brisk pace. After the momentary silence and her initial embarrassment passed, she began chatting with Morgan as looked around the streets for stalls and shops that could pique her interest.

"Eh? Is that so? Okay, I'll never leave your side then milady!" The slight movement of Morgan's head gave Severa a chance to look underneath his hood and her eyes met his own amused, brown eyes. Upon eye contact, she gave him a scowl which he more or less anticipated, making the prince chuckle. "W-Whatever! You get the idea anyway now move it!" Her walking pace increased just a bit more that it sent Morgan suddenly scrambling to follow her. It was easier said than done, with the numerous people walking past them.

The search for an interesting shop continued as the pair walked and searched the remaining places unexplored in the marketplace. Morgan had found and stopped by three bookstores and only managed to find half of the books in his list in the last shop. Severa, by that time, had already managed to spend half of the money given to her earlier. Despite the number of bags that both she and Morgan carried, her shopping expedition was far from over as her pouch was not even close to being empty. Along the way, they had come across Gaius, who had set up a temporary stall that seemed to be quite popular, given its choice of wares. The thief, who had taken to bribing the tactician prince as well (much to Morgan's confusion. When asked, Gaius merely shrugged and smirked), showed Morgan three crates full of tomes which Morgan certainly took his time to examine. Severa had to help him search for the remaining books in Robin's list and they were finished in no time. Morgan had insisted on paying the thief and ended parting with only half of the books' worth.

With Morgan's shopping done, Severa was relieved to have his full attention on her. Not only that, but things went considerably faster as Morgan didn't have to stop every few blocks, checking if a certain building was a bookstore. It was past noon when the two of them arrived in a less crowded part of the market place. Only a few buildings stood around and the spaces unclaimed were planted with flowers and other shrubberies. A few benches were available for those who desired to rest, while a fountain was found working farther away. To put it simply, this was one of the more peaceful parts of the town's marketplace.

A clothing and accessory shop named 'Ardor' stood among the few buildings littered around the place, noticeably smaller than the others. Made up of bricks and stones, the shop was painted in a warm brown and comforting cream. A sense of old-age is reflected in its peeling paints and slightly scratched walls, but a welcoming sense of peace drew in potential customers. Its display window which, given how expensive glass was, was rather smaller compared to the other shops and yet, however small it is, a ton of beautiful dresses were crammed into display. The clothes shown quickly caught Severa's eye, as it was practically beckoning her and it didn't take much more for her to drag the prince along.

"Oh Morgan! Over there! Look at those cute dresses they sell over there! Come with me quick! Don't dawdle!" Severa gushed as she pulled on Morgan's cloak. They ran towards the said building in a hurry with Severa slightly pushing through the little crowd that stood in her way, bags bouncing behind her and Morgan, balancing whatever he could while trying to keep up. Taking a moment to look at its display case, an appreciative smile found its way on Severa's faces. She impatiently pushed the door and entered, and upon stepping inside, was met with the soft scent of vanilla. "Smells delicious." Morgan mumbled with a small smile, taking in the rich scent.

The interior of the shop, like its exterior, wasn't all too richly decorated either, but whatever little eye catcher it had inside was sufficient, enough to produce a calming atmosphere. Racks of clothes neatly organized in rows, placed so that an aisle forms in the middle. An old but soft carpet greeted their feet, running from the entrance, adorning the aisle and leading up to a small counter at the back part of the shop. Mirrors are calculatedly placed in walls, accompanied few elegant candles propped up nearby, emitting a soft, warm glow and extra lighting, making the soft cream color of the walls much more pronounced.

Once inside, Morgan pulled down the hood of his cloak and ran a hand through his hair, damp with sweat. Apart from the initial awe, two however, were surprised to be greeted by a huge man, one you wouldn't expect to see in such a place. Morgan and Severa could swear that they saw this man somewhere, but they just couldn't put their finger on it. He stood tall, much taller than the both of them. He was muscular, rivaling Gregor and Vaike with his thick arms crossed over his chest as he eyed the two. A deep frown was plastered on his face and a wild moustache accompanied it. His hairline was receding, or if the two were to put it more honestly, the man was already balding, the top of his head, free of hair. What's left of it decorated his sides that acted more like sideburns. He wore a form fitting brown shirt underneath a small, green apron.

"What can I get you?" his deep, voice suddenly came barreling out of his mouth and Morgan didn't know why he expected him to sound different. Severa wasn't fazed at all though and with a quick and graceful flip of her long hair (which almost slapped Morgan in the face), stepped forward. "Do you suppose you have a…" It wasn't long till the female mercenary was off talking to the hulking man, looking through racks and racks of clothing and pulling out dresses that Morgan was certain Severa would buy. With his companion off looking around with the assistance of what looked to be the shop owner, Morgan wandered around the shop himself.

Morgan could admittedly say that he had never seen such a huge collection of colorful clothes in one area before. His own varied in shades of mostly just brown, purple, silver, gold or blue. Even Robin's gowns were made of simple colors. Of course, Lucina had a peculiar taste in clothing, often choosing such colorful articles but she never once got the chance to wear them as every vibrant outfit she bought mysteriously disappeared a few days later. Morgan knew why, but he'd never tell her of course.

After a few minutes of just browsing through the racks out of mere amusement, the prince walked farther down the back of the shop where a large table was situated, close to the counter. On top of it laid a selection and assortment of jewelries and accessories, all of which he found charming. Rings and pendants adorned with jewels and gems, charms and hair accessories that were fit for a noble, all of them were organized in a way that they complimented each other in arrangement. Automatically, his hand found its way to a necklace sitting at the farthest side of the table. The necklace was with a medium-sized ruby, shined and polished enough so that he could see his own reflection in it. Gold metalwork accompanied the ruby, making it look almost regal. The jewel hung around an absurdly thin chain of gold that the prince thought he'd snap in two if he wasn't careful. It was a real beauty that Morgan was sure anyone can appreciate, delicate yet feisty, if he'd word it.

"That's one of a kind, if I do say so myself." A loud voice suddenly said beside him, startling Morgan and forcing him to retract his hand, even before he could lay a hand on the necklace before him. The prince looked up and met the shop owner's eyes, his grim face, struggling to crack a small smile and nodding to show how he agreed with himself. Morgan let out an unnoticeable sigh and looked around the shop. Severa was nowhere to be seen.

"Your lady is trying on a few articles. With the amount of clothes she pulled into her arms, I'd say it would take a while before she returns." The man stated as if to answer the question forming in his head. Morgan arched an eyebrow and smiled, a faint chuckle escaping his lips as he scanned the table for other accessories that seemed to be competing with each other in beauty.

* * *

><p>"So how does this look Morgan?" Severa asked for the fifth time as she twirled around in her fifth dress. The one she wore was a sleeveless turtleneck dress, its colors, a simple blue with silver trimmings. The top part was form fitting, hugging her curves, accentuating her chest, the slender form of her waist and the graceful curve of her back. The lack of sleeves shows her nice shoulders and arms. The skirt part flowed freely a few inches past her knees and spun around as she did. Simple as it may be, Severa knew it looked stunning on her.<p>

Morgan stared longer than expected; fumbling with his fingers as he sat on the seat the shop owner provided him earlier. He said he had been keeping it for male customers who came with overexcited wives and Morgan only laughed and waved his hand weakly as he gathered everything he and Severa had bought so far. The mercenary, who had been waiting for a response, tsked impatiently glaring at the prince, who seemed to be too deep in thought, just thinking of an answer.

"It's okay." Morgan finally said, looking up at her from where he sat.

"That's all? Morgan, that's what you've been saying since my first dress!"

Morgan frowned. In his defense, he knew nothing about dresses. In his eyes, everything looked good on her. "W-Well no, I mean, it looks great on you, along with every other dress you've tried so far! I think everything you're going to try will look great on you." He replied quickly, lest Severa were to lose her temper yet again. The shopkeeper who stood beside him laughed loudly, surprising both soldiers.

"The boy is right miss! Take it from me, I am confident in my fashion sense." The man's voice rang loudly. Morgan, nodded to his statement, although he was surprised to hear such a thing from the hulking man beside him. Hearing that from the shop owner did little to convince Severa, but Morgan's comment was more than enough to appease her. The mercenary huffed, and went back to change coming out later on, with the bundle of clothes in her arms. Although both men with her said nothing else, the shopkeeper, however, did not fail to notice the blush she sported and the smile creeping on Severa's face despite her futile attempts of concealing it by burying her face in the articles in her arms.

* * *

><p>Although Morgan had volunteered to carry a few of Severa's purchases, he did not expect that 'a few' would certainly amount to 'preposterously many'. By the time Severa had completely emptied out the contents of her coin pouch, Morgan had to take off his well-prized cloak and made it into a make-shift bag to place a few of their baggage in it.<p>

The way back to camp meant taking the way from which they came to, and that meant weaving through another big crowd. Carrying Severa's purchases were hard enough, but pushing through a wave of people only added to the struggle. It did not help that Morgan's striking royal colored hair drew attention, making the way back even more crowded. The prince had to keep his head down, occasionally looking up.

"Th-this is harder than expected." Morgan grunted as he was pushed away yet again by someone who seemed to be in a hurry. With the prince walking in front of Severa, he stumbled behind and earned a hiss from the mercenary. "S-Sorry. I didn't—"

"Just hurry up." He heard the woman growl. Morgan nodded and pushed on ahead, clutching his baggage close to his chest as he bumped arms and shoulders against other people coming towards him. With the seemingly endless river of people going against and pushing him back, it had taken a while before Morgan could press against a nearby wall and look back to check on his companion. He expected to see a scowl from the mercenary, however, instead of that, he was met with more people. The prince risked it and raised his head, looking around for a sign of the mercenary, only to realize that she was not close by. "Severa?" he called, taking the time to hear an answer.

"Severa!" he called again, but to his frustration, she was just nowhere to be found and no answer was given to him. "Sev! Severa!" he called once more, this time, braving the crowd again and going back a few steps. "Severa?" he called louder, clutching the items in one hand and softly pulling on his fringes with the other. People were starting to take notice of him then, taking in his appearance and asking soft questions about his identity and his questionable royal mark. A few of them had stopped to look at him, and although it embarrassed him, Morgan was quite thankful for it as his passage was slightly made easier with reduced outside movement.

"Severa!" he all but shouted, slightly panicking when his call went unanswered yet again. His walking pace started speeding up, and he nearly missed the mercenary pressed tightly against a wall, her signature scowl revealing her annoyance towards everyone and everything around her. "Severa!" Morgan called as his quick eyes finally spotted her. When she looked up, he was greeted with a relieved expression, a smile threatening to form on her face, only to be shattered even before it could form to be one.

"Morgan you airhead, where were you! And how dare you leave me like this!?" she growled even louder than his initial call which had the prince stepping back a bit. The mercenary drew out a huge breath and pushed herself towards him. "I'm sorry! It's just that you told me to keep walking so I did. When I checked on you, you were gone." Morgan explained.

"Yeah well I didn't tell you to walk too fast! You men and your big strides! How insensitive." She growled, pushing past him to walk ahead. It took a while before the prince followed, his head down once again, chuckling as he eyed her. "Well, that me I guess. Sorry." He apologized again. It was only later that when Morgan noticed that the crowd had pushed him quite far ahead yet again and he was starting to lose Severa once more. He stopped again waited until she caught up to him, slightly panting from catching up. "This is unbearable!" she complained as Morgan let her past him. As she walked, he had observed that true to her complaints, Severa's strides were noticeably smaller than his, and despite her strength (that was never to be doubted), it didn't take much to push her back when someone else collided with her as she walked. Morgan continued to follow her.

"Morgan are you still—"

"Sorry about this Severa.."

"What do you…" before the mercenary could ask what he meant, Morgan, had taken her hand into his own, squeezing tightly and pulling her along. His gloves were smooth against her semi-calloused hands and she was thankful that he was wearing something like that otherwise he'd feel her hands sweating. "W-W-What do you think you're doing?" Severa screeched, yet making no move to pull her hands away from him. They continued to walk even further, his hands slipping away from hers and him pulling her back numerous times. In the end, Morgan had decided to risk everything and just entwined his fingers with hers, locking their hands together tightly. Severa, who was then burning in embarrassment and anxiety, felt her knees going weak and if he were to let go, she's certain that she'd faint on the spot. The large crowd didn't help in easing her labored breathing.

"Sorry but it'll be easier this way. Don't have to worry about being pushed away." It took a while before Morgan decided to speak.

"Who's being pushed away? Do you think I can't handle myself? Let go! Now!"

"S-Sorry but no."

"Morgan!"

"P-Please bear with it for a while!"

With Morgan's rather shaky insistence, Severa was forced to hold on to the prince hesitantly. It wasn't like she was making any move to pull away in the first place. True enough, it was slightly easier to move along with them holding hands. Severa's pace increased considerably as Morgan pulled her along gently. She didn't have to worry about being separated and with the prince walking in front of her, it was easier to pass through, with him clearing a path for her so she didn't have to bump into anymore people for a while.

As they travelled slowly, Severa was thinking of how firm Morgan's grip was, yet how gentle his hand felt as he held hers.

* * *

><p>"Let's just hurry up and go back to camp Inigo! We are wasting time yet again!" an irritated princess grumbled for the nth time that afternoon as she trailed after the male mercenary in a market place. Lucina had no idea what the importance of frolicking in town was and how it would help her brother in any way and yet, here she was being dragged around by Inigo in what he called a "date".<p>

Inigo had explained to her earlier that they were doing this so that she'd have an idea of what an enjoyable date would mean and entail, but so far, she found nothing enjoyable and nothing seemed different from what they usually did. It consisted mostly of talking and walking around, things they have started doing on a daily basis ever since she agreed to Inigo's plan. Thinking back on it, Lucina had started to realize that Inigo's proposal was utterly ridiculous and a complete waste of time. Nothing they did certainly helped Morgan as her brother, according to his stories, was a man capable of taking action himself. More than anything, Lucina had started wondering why she even continues to stick to the mercenary's plan.

'_I ought to stop one of these days._' She'd think to herself every time she felt too annoyed to deal with him. In the end, the thought always flies away from her head and she'll end up forgetting.

"Lucina? Princess, are you listening?" Inigo's voice started to register to him and she realized that she had been standing in front of a stall they had stopped by, staring at her companion. The mercenary was grinning at her, although a faint blush was worming its way into his face. He was also noticeably fidgeting.

"I-I know I'm handsome but—"

"Let us go back. This is starting to irritate me."

"Eh? But we're not even done yet!"

"I fail to see how this will help Morgan. In fact, nothing we ever did seemed to help him."

"Don't say that! Based on your stories, he seems to be progressing just fine!" Inigo waved off while taking his purchases from the stall owner and continued walking. His pace was slow enough for Lucina to follow and she walked up beside him in no time. "Yes, it is. Without our help. Inigo, we are just wasting time. Morgan doesn't need any of this." Lucina countered, keeping her eyes in front of him.

"Hmm… is that so?" Inigo hummed, not really paying enough attention to answer her. Instead, he dug around his bag for something that was located deep inside it. Lucina, who was growing more and more impatient, decided not to continue, otherwise, she'd once again snap at the man. Instead, she concentrated on watching the thick crowd in front of her and maneuvering her way out of the suffocating wave of people.

Getting out of the mob was easier said than done. When she had achieved it though, she had lost sight of Inigo, and only realized that he was no longer with her. Originally just irritated, she was now furious. Lucina wanted to go back to camp as soon as possible and swing Falchion and destroy something. She was itching to train. But with Inigo gone, it was unadvisable to go back without him. Lucina swore that if she were to catch him picking up another woman, she'd strangle him.

As she was preparing to jump back into the raging mess of people in search of him, a strong grip stopped her from going back and she was pulled back to face Inigo, red faced and slightly out of breath. "No need to trouble yourself. Inigo's here!" despite his slightly erratic breathing, he managed to pull off something wasteful like that.

"I… see that." Lucina narrowed her eyes at him and attempted to pull away from his grip, but it was surprisingly strong as Inigo had kept her in place. "Stay still for a while, will you?" he asked before slowly letting go. The princess, having asked, stood up straighter, waiting for what Inigo would do. The mercenary continued rummaging inside the bag as he had been doing earlier and it was a few seconds later when he finally smiled brightly, signaling Lucina that he may have found whatever he was looking for. Before Lucina could ask, deft hands brushed against her hair, producing a swift, light motion that Lucina would not have sensed if she weren't looking.

"Inigo what are you—" Lucina started.

"Lucina, hold still." Inigo ordered softly, finishing what he was doing a moment later. He dropped his hands at once and eyed the princess appreciatively, smile growing as the seconds passed. "Yup, it looks great on you." He laughed. "Come on, let's go back to camp. I've got unfinished business that needs to be wrapped up." He continued, taking the princess' hand and leading her back to the direction of the Shepherds' camp.

"Inigo, what did you just put on my hair?" Lucina asked, raising her free hand to touch her hair. Inigo swiftly swatted it away, earning a growl from the princess. "Nothing that looks bad on you. And no looking till we get to camp. It's a surprise." He scolded lightly. Lucina dropped her hand once Inigo had finished and the mercenary flashed a victorious smile upon seeing her comply. The two walked together in silence with Lucina not even noticing how Inigo had taken a hold of her hand. She was too busy thinking of other things.

"What is it that you need to finish?" she finally asked when they were nearing camp. Inigo did not look at her as they kept walking. "mm… It's hard to explain I guess. I'm just… trying to see if I still have a chance." Inigo replied, further confusing the princess. Both of them didn't say anything else after that and the only time Lucina noticed Inigo's hand holding hers, was when he purposely let it go. Lucina wondered why she did not notice. Either way, the two of them went their separate ways after that; she headed straight for her tent and dug out a rarely used mirror. Upon looking at it, she saw a charming hair piece sitting on her hair, made up of silver and shaped like a butterfly with sapphires decorating its wings. Miniature and light enough so as not to cause any trouble in combat, yet noticeable even from afar. Lucina contemplate on taking it off, thinking that it did not suit her however, a few more seconds of staring at the mirror, made her decide not to.

'_Maybe sometimes, receiving gifts like these would be nice.'_ She smiled as she exited the tent to look for Inigo with plans to give him her thanks.

* * *

><p><strong>A.N.<strong>

Ah gosh so this is one of my later updates again isn't it? Well for the past month or so, I've been terribly busy with schoolwork to the point where I really literally don't leave my table unless I'm going to eat or sleep.

Anyway, like all the other instances where I'm late, I'm terribly sorry. I'm not even sure about the quality of this chapter since I was out of it when I wrote this but well... enjoy anyway!

In the next chapter that love rival will appear and a whole lot of misunderstandings will start to form so... keep an eye out for that ahahaha

btw, the shopkeeper here is actually the game armorer, just in case you didn't understand my descriptions

Anyway, thanks to all those who take the time to read this, thanks to all the faves, follows and reviews! I'll definitely get to that once I get enough sleep but they're all loved and appreciated! Well, thanks again guys! Till next time~


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